Effect of hydrogen addition on autoignited methane lifted flames

KAUST Repository

Choin, Byung Chul

2012-01-01

Autoignited lifted flames in laminar jets with hydrogen-enriched methane fuels have been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. The results showed that the autoignited lifted flame of the methane/hydrogen mixture, which had an initial temperature over 920 K, the threshold temperature for autoignition in methane jets, exhibited features typical of either a tribrachial edge or mild combustion depending on fuel mole fraction and the liftoff height increased with jet velocity. The liftoff height in the hydrogen-assisted autoignition regime was dependent on the square of the adiabatic ignition delay time for the addition of small amounts of hydrogen, as was the case for pure methane jets. When the initial temperature was below 920 K, where the methane fuel did not show autoignition behavior, the flame was autoignited by the addition of hydrogen, which is an ignition improver. The liftoff height demonstrated a unique feature in that it decreased nonlinearly as the jet velocity increased. The differential diffusion of hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role in the decrease in the liftoff height with increasing jet velocity.

Hydrogen production by methane reforming based on micro-gap discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, N N; Wang, M X; Liu, K Y; Bai, M D

2013-01-01

Based on micro-gap strong ionization discharge, this paper presents a study of hydrogen production by methane reforming at room temperature and atmospheric pressure without catalyst. Influence rules of conversion of methane and production of hydrogen were studied by changing discharge power and feed gas flow rate. Results show that when the discharge power was about 341 W, the discharge gap was 0.47 mm and the flow rate of feed gas was 100 mL min −1 , the conversion of methane and yield of hydrogen reached optimization. The conversion rate of methane and the highest yield of hydrogen were 68.14 % and 51.34 %, respectively.

Effect of hydrogen addition on autoignited methane lifted flames

KAUST Repository

Choin, Byung Chul; Chung, Suk-Ho

2012-01-01

Autoignited lifted flames in laminar jets with hydrogen-enriched methane fuels have been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. The results showed that the autoignited lifted flame of the methane/hydrogen mixture, which had an initial

Adsorption and methanation of carbon dioxide on a nickel/silica catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falconer, J.L.; Zagli, A.E.

1980-04-01

Temperature-programed desorption and reaction studies showed that increasing amounts of CO/sub 2/ adsorbed on silica-supported 6.9% nickel with increasing temperature to a maximum adsorption at approx. 443/sup 0/K, i.e., that the adsorption was activated; that CO/sub 2/ desorbed partly as CO/sub 2/ with the peak at 543/sup 0/K, and partly as CO with several peaks; that in the presence of hydrogen, nearly all adsorbed CO/sub 2/ desorbed as methane, and a small amount as CO; and that the methane desorption peaks from adsorbed CO and CO/sub 2/ both occurred at 473/sup 0/K. These results suggested that carbon dioxide adsorbed dissociatively as a carbon monoxide and an oxygen species. An observed absence of higher hydrocarbons in the methanation products of carbon dioxide was attributed to a high hydrogen/carbon monoxide surface ratio caused by the activated carbon dioxide adsorption.

Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wayland, B.B.

1993-12-01

Focus of this project is on developing new approaches for hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to produce organic oxygenates at mild conditions. The strategies to accomplish CO reduction are based on favorable thermodynamics manifested by rhodium macrocycles for producing a series of intermediates implicated in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO. Metalloformyl complexes from reactions of H 2 and CO, and CO reductive coupling to form metallo α-diketone species provide alternate routes to organic oxygenates that utilize these species as intermediates. Thermodynamic and kinetic-mechanistic studies are used in guiding the design of new metallospecies to improve the thermodynamic and kinetic factors for individual steps in the overall process. Electronic and steric effects associated with the ligand arrays along with the influences of the reaction medium provide the chemical tools for tuning these factors. Non-macrocyclic ligand complexes that emulate the favorable thermodynamic features associated with rhodium macrocycles, but that also manifest improved reaction kinetics are promising candidates for future development

In silico search for novel methane steam reforming catalysts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Yue; Lausche, Adam C; Wang, Shengguang

2013-01-01

App’) with a microkinetic modeling technique to predict the rates and selectivities of a prospective material. This paper illustrates this screening technique using the steam reforming of methane to carbon monoxide and hydrogen as a test reaction. While catalysts are already commercially available for this process...

Carbon monoxide hydrogenation over ruthenium zeolites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacobs, P.A.; Nijs, H.H.; Verdonck, J.J.; Uytterhoeven, J.B.

1978-03-01

Ru zeolites are active and stable methanation catalysts. Under Fischer--Tropsch conditions they show a narrow product distribution. Further work is needed to assign this to a possible effect exerted by the zeolite cages. When the size of the Ru particles enclosed in the zeolite cages is increased, a lower methanation activity is found and a higher amount of C/sub 2/ and C/sub 3/ products are formed under Fischer--Tropsch conditions. This effect has not been reported until now on other supports. The less acidic zeolites act as promoters of the CO hydrogenation: under methanation conditions the activity is increased; under Fischer--Tropsch conditions, the selectivity is shifted toward higher hydrocarbons. This is explained by the particular zeolite property that electron deficient metal agglomerates seem to be formed on the acidic zeolites. With respect to kinetic behavior, relative activity of different metals, influence of reaction temperature on product distribution, the zeolite behaves in the same way a conventional alumina support. 4 figs., 4 tables.

Analysis of hydrogen and methane in seawater by "Headspace" method: Determination at trace level with an automatic headspace sampler.

Science.gov (United States)

Donval, J P; Guyader, V

2017-01-01

"Headspace" technique is one of the methods for the onboard measurement of hydrogen (H 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) in deep seawater. Based on the principle of an automatic headspace commercial sampler, a specific device has been developed to automatically inject gas samples from 300ml syringes (gas phase in equilibrium with seawater). As valves, micro pump, oven and detector are independent, a gas chromatograph is not necessary allowing a reduction of the weight and dimensions of the analytical system. The different steps from seawater sampling to gas injection are described. Accuracy of the method is checked by a comparison with the "purge and trap" technique. The detection limit is estimated to 0.3nM for hydrogen and 0.1nM for methane which is close to the background value in deep seawater. It is also shown that this system can be used to analyze other gases such as Nitrogen (N 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and light hydrocarbons. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Methane and hydrogen production from crop biomass through anaerobic digestion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pakarinen, O.

2011-07-01

The feasibility of methane and hydrogen production from energy crops through anaerobic digestion was evaluated in this thesis. The effects of environmental conditions, e.g. pH and temperature, as well as inoculum source on H{sub 2} yield were studied in batch assays. In addition, the effects of pre-treatments on methane and hydrogen yield as well as the feasibility of two-stage H{sub 2} + CH{sub 4} production was evaluated. Moreover, the effect of storage on methane yield of grasses was evaluated. Monodigestion of grass silage for methane production was studied, as well as shifting the methanogenic process to hydrogenic. Hydrogen production from grass silage and maize was shown to be possible with heat-treated inoculum in batch assays, with highest H{sub 2} yields of 16.0 and 9.9 ml gVS{sub added}-1 from untreated grass silage and maize, respectively. Pre-treatments (NaOH, HCl and water-extraction) showed some potential in increasing H{sub 2} yields, while methane yields were not affected. Two-stage H{sub 2} + CH{sub 4} producing process was shown to improve CH{sub 4} yields when compared to traditional one-stage CH{sub 4} process. Methane yield from grass silage monodigestion in continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with organic loading rate (OLR) of 2 kgVS (m3d)-1 and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 30 days was at most 218 l kgVS{sub fed}-1. Methanogenic process was shifted to hydrogenic by increasing the OLR to 10 kgVS (m3d)-1 and shortening the HRT to 6 days. Highest H{sub 2} yield from grass silage was 42 l kgVS{sub fed}-1 with a maximum H{sub 2} content of 24 %. Energy crops can be successfully stored even for prolonged periods without decrease in methane yield. However, under sub-optimal storage conditions loss in volatile solids (VS) content and methane yield can occur. According to present results energy crops such as grass silage and maize can be converted to hydrogen or methane in AD process. Hydrogen energy yields are typically only 2-5 % of the

Investigation of combustion characteristics of methane-hydrogen fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Vetkin, A. V.; Suris, A. L.; Litvinova, O. A.

2015-01-01

Numerical investigations of combustion characteristics of methane-hydrogen fuel used at present in tube furnaces of some petroleum refineries are carried out and possible problems related to change-over of existing furnaces from natural gas to methane-hydrogen fuel are analyzed. The effect of the composition of the blended fuel, associated temperature and emissivity of combustion products, temperature of combustion chamber walls, mean beam length, and heat release on variation in the radiation heat flux is investigated. The methane concentration varied from 0 to 100%. The investigations were carried out both at arbitrary given gas temperatures and at effective temperatures determined based on solving a set of equations at various heat-release rates of the combustion chamber and depended on the adiabatic combustion temperature and the temperature at the chamber output. The approximation dependence for estimation of the radiation heat exchange rate in the radiant chamber of the furnace at change-over to fuel with a greater hydrogen content is obtained. Hottel data were applied in the present work in connection with the impossibility to use approximated formulas recommended by the normative method for heat calculation of boilers to determine the gas emissivity, which are limited by the relationship of partial pressures of water steam and carbon dioxide in combustion products . The effect of the methane-hydrogen fuel on the equilibrium concentration of nitrogen oxides is also investigated.

Carbon monoxide - hydrogen combustion characteristics in severe accident containment conditions. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-03-01

Carbon monoxide can be produced in severe accidents from interaction of ex-vessel molten core with concrete. Depending on the particular core-melt scenario, the type of concrete and geometric factors affecting the interaction, the quantities of carbon monoxide produced can vary widely, up to several volume percent in the containment. Carbon monoxide is a combustible gas. The carbon monoxide thus produced is in addition to the hydrogen produced by metal-water reactions and by radiolysis, and represents a possibly significant contribution to the combustible gas inventory in the containment. Assessment of possible accident loads to containment thus requires knowledge of the combustion properties of both CO and H 2 in the containment atmosphere. Extensive studies have been carried out and are still continuing in the nuclear industry to assess the threat of hydrogen in a severe reactor accident. However the contribution of carbon monoxide to the combustion threat has received less attention. Assessment of scenarios involving ex-vessel interactions require additional attention to the potential contribution of carbon monoxide to combustion loads in containment, as well as the effectiveness of mitigation measures designed for hydrogen to effectively deal with particular aspects of carbon monoxide. The topic of core-concrete interactions has been extensively studied; for more complete background on the issue and on the physical/thermal-hydraulics phenomena involved, the reader is referred to Proceedings of CSNI Specialists Meetings (Ritzman, 1987; Alsmeyer, 1992) and a State-of-Art Report (European Commission, 1995). The exact amount of carbon monoxide present in a reactor pit or in various compartments (or rooms) in a containment building is specific to the type of concrete and the accident scenario considered. Generally, concrete containing limestone and sand have a high percentage of CaCO 3 . Appendix A provides an example of results of estimates of CO and CO 2

Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wayland, B.B.

1992-12-01

This project is focused on developing strategies to accomplish the reduction and hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to produce organic oxygenates at mild conditions. Our approaches to this issue are based on the recognition that rhodium macrocycles have unusually favorable thermodynamic values for producing a series of intermediate implicated in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO. Observations of metalloformyl complexes produced by reactions of H{sub 2} and CO, and reductive coupling of CO to form metallo {alpha}-diketone species have suggested a multiplicity of routes to organic oxygenates that utilize these species as intermediates. Thermodynamic and kinetic-mechanistic studies are used in constructing energy profiles for a variety of potential pathways, and these schemes are used in guiding the design of new metallospecies to improve the thermodynamic and kinetic factors for individual steps in the overall process. Variation of the electronic and steric effects associated with the ligand arrays along with the influences of the reaction medium provide the chemical tools for tuning these factors. Emerging knowledge of the factors that contribute to M-H, M-C and M-O bond enthalpies is directing the search for ligand arrays that will expand the range of metal species that have favorable thermodynamic parameters to produce the primary intermediates for CO hydrogenation. Studies of rhodium complexes are being extended to non-macrocyclic ligand complexes that emulate the favorable thermodynamic features associated with rhodium macrocycles, but that also manifest improved reaction kinetics. Multifunctional catalyst systems designed to couple the ability of rhodium complexes to produce formyl and diketone intermediates with a second catalyst that hydrogenates these imtermediates are promising approaches to accomplish CO hydrogenation at mild conditions.

Production of hydrogen via methane reforming using atmospheric pressure microwave plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jasinski, Mariusz; Dors, Miroslaw [Centre for Plasma and Laser Engineering, The Szewalski Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery, Polish Academy of Sciences, Fiszera 14, 80-952 Gdansk (Poland); Mizeraczyk, Jerzy [Centre for Plasma and Laser Engineering, The Szewalski Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery, Polish Academy of Sciences, Fiszera 14, 80-952 Gdansk (Poland); Department of Marine Electronics, Gdynia Maritime University, Morska 83, 81-225 Gdynia (Poland)

2008-06-15

In this paper, results of hydrogen production via methane reforming in the atmospheric pressure microwave plasma are presented. A waveguide-based nozzleless cylinder-type microwave plasma source (MPS) was used to convert methane into hydrogen. Important advantages of the presented waveguide-based nozzleless cylinder-type MPS are: stable operation in various gases (including air) at high flow rates, no need for a cooling system, and impedance matching. The plasma generation was stabilized by an additional swirled nitrogen flow (50 or 100 l min{sup -1}). The methane flow rate was up to 175 l min{sup -1}. The absorbed microwave power could be changed from 3000 to 5000 W. The hydrogen production rate and the corresponding energy efficiency in the presented methane reforming by the waveguide-based nozzleless cylinder-type MPS were up to 255 g[H{sub 2}] h{sup -1} and 85 g[H{sub 2}] kWh{sup -1}, respectively. These parameters are better than those typical of the conventional methods of hydrogen production (steam reforming of methane and water electrolysis). (author)

Analysis of energy efficiency of methane and hydrogen-methane blends in a PFI/DI SI research engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Catapano, F.; Di Iorio, S.; Sementa, P.; Vaglieco, B.M.

2016-01-01

In the last years, even more attention was paid to the alternative fuels that allow both reducing the fossil fuel consumption and the pollutant emissions. Gaseous fuels like methane and hydrogen are the most interesting in terms of engine application. This paper reports a comparison between methane and different methane/hydrogen mixtures in a single-cylinder Port Fuel/Direct Injection spark ignition (PFI/DI SI) engine operating under steady state conditions. It is representative of the gasoline engine for automotive application. Engine performance and exhaust emissions were evaluated. Moreover, 2D-digital cycle resolved imaging was performed with high spatial and temporal resolution in the combustion chamber. In particular, it allows characterizing the combustion by means of the flame propagation in terms of mean radius and velocity. Moreover, the interaction of turbulence with the local flame was evaluated. For both the engine configurations, it was observed that the addition of hydrogen results in a more efficient combustion, even though the engine configuration plays an important role. In PFI mode, the lower density of hydrogen causes a lower energy input. In DI mode, instead, the larger hydrogen diffusivity counteracts the charge stratification especially for larger hydrogen content. - Highlights: • The effect of hydrogen on methane combustion was investigated in an optical PFI/DI SI engine. • The effect of hydrogen addition for PFI and DI configurations was evaluated on the same engine. • The flame front propagation was characterized by means of 2-D digital imaging.

CO2 Reduction Catalyzed by Nitrogenase: Pathways to Formate, Carbon Monoxide, and Methane.

Science.gov (United States)

Khadka, Nimesh; Dean, Dennis R; Smith, Dayle; Hoffman, Brian M; Raugei, Simone; Seefeldt, Lance C

2016-09-06

The reduction of N2 to NH3 by Mo-dependent nitrogenase at its active-site metal cluster FeMo-cofactor utilizes reductive elimination of Fe-bound hydrides with obligatory loss of H2 to activate the enzyme for binding/reduction of N2. Earlier work showed that wild-type nitrogenase and a nitrogenase with amino acid substitutions in the MoFe protein near FeMo-cofactor can catalytically reduce CO2 by two or eight electrons/protons to carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) at low rates. Here, it is demonstrated that nitrogenase preferentially reduces CO2 by two electrons/protons to formate (HCOO(-)) at rates >10 times higher than rates of CO2 reduction to CO and CH4. Quantum mechanical calculations on the doubly reduced FeMo-cofactor with a Fe-bound hydride and S-bound proton (E2(2H) state) favor a direct reaction of CO2 with the hydride ("direct hydride transfer" reaction pathway), with facile hydride transfer to CO2 yielding formate. In contrast, a significant barrier is observed for reaction of Fe-bound CO2 with the hydride ("associative" reaction pathway), which leads to CO and CH4. Remarkably, in the direct hydride transfer pathway, the Fe-H behaves as a hydridic hydrogen, whereas in the associative pathway it acts as a protic hydrogen. MoFe proteins with amino acid substitutions near FeMo-cofactor (α-70(Val→Ala), α-195(His→Gln)) are found to significantly alter the distribution of products between formate and CO/CH4.

Effects of water vapor on the radiolysis of methane over molecular sieve 5A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Y.; Nagai, S.

1989-01-01

Effects of the addition of H 2 O on the radiation-induced chemical reaction of methane over molecular sieve 5A at 460 0 C have been studied by product analysis. Hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons consisting mainly of C 2 and C 3 alkanes and alkenes were produced from CH 4 + H 2 O mixtures at high conversion levels. The yields of hydrocarbons from 3:1 and 3:2 CH 4 + H 2 O mixtures decreased slightly with time but those from 3:4 mixture showed no decrease with time. When the molecular sieve 5A that had been irradiated in flowing methane was reirradiated in the presence of H 2 O, carbonaceous solid produced from methane on molecular sieve 5A was readily decomposed to carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrocarbons, mainly alkanes. Therefore, it is concluded that the suppression of decrease of product yields with time by the addition of H 2 O is mainly ascribed to decomposition of the carbonaceous solid by H 2 O under electron beam irradiation. The role of added H 2 O is also discussed in connection with the conventional methane-steam reforming reaction. (author)

Hydrogen or synthesis gas production via the partial oxidation of methane over supported nickel-cobalt catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koh, Alaric C.W. [Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543 (Singapore); Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833 (Singapore); Chen, Luwei; Lin, Jianyi [Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833 (Singapore); Kee Leong, Weng [Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543 (Singapore); Johnson, Brian F.G.; Khimyak, Tetyana [University Chemical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, UK CB2 1EW (United Kingdom)

2007-05-15

Activity, selectivity, and coking-resistance of a series of Ni{sub x}Co{sub y} (where x,y are the respective metal loadings of 0, 1, 2 or 3 wt.%; x+y=3) bimetallic catalysts supported on CaAl{sub 2}O{sub 4}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} have been studied for hydrogen/synthesis gas production via the catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of methane. Catalysts were characterized by temperature programmed reduction (TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray fluorescence multi-element analysis (XRF). Their activity for the partial oxidation of methane to hydrogen and carbon monoxide (at 1 bar, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 144,000cm{sup 3}g{sup -1}h{sup -1} and CH{sub 4}/O{sub 2} molar ratio of 2) was investigated, and coke deposited on the spent catalysts was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The activity was found to decrease in the order of Ni{sub 2}Co>Ni{sub 3}>NiCo{sub 2}>>Co{sub 3}, while CO and H{sub 2} selectivities were found to be in the order ofNi{sub 2}Co>Ni{sub 3}{approx}NiCo{sub 2}>Co{sub 3}. Ni{sub 2}Co is also shown to be more resistant to coking as compared to Ni{sub 3}, which is a current catalyst of choice. Results show that not only does Ni{sub 2}Co have the highest activity and selectivity among all the catalysts tested, it is also relatively resistant to coking. This finding would be helpful for catalyst design to achieve high coking resistivity catalysts for hydrogen production from CPO of methane. (author)

Ruthenium-platinum bimetallic catalysts supported on silica: characterization and study of benzene hydrogenation and CO methanation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chakrabarty, D.K.; Rao, K.M.; Sundararaman, N.; Chandavar, K.

1986-12-15

Ru-Pt/SiO/sub 2/ bimetallic catalysts with varying Ru:Pt ratio have been prepared and studied with the aim to establish if they contain coclusters or isolated ruthenium and platinum particles. X-ray diffraction studies show that individual crystallites of ruthenium and platinum are present and no coclusters are formed. Metal dispersion has been determined by hydrogen chemisorption and surface composition of the catalysts has been obtained from XPS. It was found that preoxidation of the catalysts prior to reduction is essential for good platinum dispersion. The experimental turnover number (TN) for benzene hydrogenation on the bimetallic catalysts agrees very well with that of the weighted average on the individual metal catalysts and this may be taken as a kinetic evidence for the absence of coclusters. Carbon monoxide methanation activity of the bimetallic catalysts is quite similar to that of the supported platinum catalyst. 6 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Asymptotic analysis of methane-hydrogen-air mixtures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hermanns, R.T.E.; Bastiaans, R.J.M.; Goey, de L.P.H.

2005-01-01

In this paper an asymptotic analysis of de Goey et al.concerning premixed stoichiometric methane-hydrogen-air flames is analyzed in depth. The analysis is performed with up to 50 mole percent of hydrogen in the fuel, at gas inlet temperatures ranging from 300 K to 650 K and pressures from 1 to 15

Range measurements of keV hydrogen ions in solid oxygen and carbon monoxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schou, J.; Soerensen, H.; Andersen, H.H.; Nielsen, M.; Rune, J.

1984-01-01

Ranges of 1.3-3.5 keV/atom hydrogen and deuterium molecular ions have been measured by a thin-film reflection method. The technique, used here for range measurements in solid oxygen and carbon monoxide targets, is identical to the one used previously for range measurements in hydrogen and nitrogen. The main aim was to look for phase-effects, i.e. gas-solid differences in the stopping processes. While measured ranges in solid oxygen were in agreement with known gas data, the ranges in solid carbon monoxide were up to 50% larger than those calculated from gas-stopping data. The latter result agrees with that previously found for solid nitrogen. (orig.)

Methane Formation by Flame-Generated Hydrogen Atoms in the Flame Ionization Detector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Torkil; Madsen, Jørgen Øgaard

1996-01-01

, and conceivably all hydrocarbons are quantitatively converted into methane at temperatures below 600 C, that is, before the proper combustion has started. The splitting of the C-C bonds is preceded by hydrogenation of double and triple bonds and aromatic rings. The reactions, no doubt, are caused by hydrogen...... atoms, which are formed in the burning hydrogen and which diffuse into the inner core of the flame. The quantitative formation of methane appears to explain the "equal per carbon" rule for the detector response of hydrocarbons, since all carbons are "exchanged" for methane molecules....

Hydrogen Recovery by ECR Plasma Pyrolysis of Methane, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Development of a microgravity and hypogravity compatible microwave plasma methane pyrolysis reactor is proposed to recover hydrogen which is lost as methane in the...

CO 2-scrubbing and methanation as purification system for PEFC

Science.gov (United States)

Ledjeff-Hey, K.; Roes, J.; Wolters, R.

Hydrogen is usually produced by steam reforming of natural gas in large-scale processes. The reformate consists of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and residues of hydrocarbons. Since the anode catalyst of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) is usually based on platinum, which is easily poisoned by carbon monoxide, the conditioned feed gas should contain less than 100 ppmv CO, and preferably, less than 10 ppmv. Depending on the design and operating conditions of the hydrogen production process, the CO content of a typical reformate gas, even after the CO shift reactor may be in the range of 0.2-1.0 vol.%; this is far higher than a PEFC can tolerate. A CO management system is required to lower the CO concentration to acceptable levels. In many cases, the CO purification system consists of a combination of physical or chemical processes to achieve the necessary reduction in CO content. A promising alternative for hydrogen purification is a combined process consisting of a carbon dioxide scrubber with subsequent methanation to reduce the carbon monoxide content to an acceptable level of less than 10 ppmv.

Hydrogen and methane production from household solid waste in the two-stage fermentation process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lui, D.; Liu, D.; Zeng, Raymond Jianxiong

2006-01-01

A two-stage process combined hydrogen and methane production from household solid waste was demonstrated working successfully. The yield of 43 mL H-2/g volatile solid (VS) added was generated in the first hydrogen production stage and the methane production in the second stage was 500 mL CH4/g VS...... added. This figure was 21% higher than the methane yield from the one-stage process, which was run as control. Sparging of the hydrogen reactor with methane gas resulted in doubling of the hydrogen production. PH was observed as a key factor affecting fermentation pathway in hydrogen production stage....... Furthermore, this study also provided direct evidence in the dynamic fermentation process that, hydrogen production increase was reflected by acetate to butyrate ratio increase in liquid phase. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

CO2 Reduction Catalyzed by Nitrogenase: Pathways to Formate, Carbon Monoxide, and Methane

OpenAIRE

Khadka, Nimesh; Dean, Dennis R.; Smith, Dayle; Hoffman, Brian M.; Raugei, Simone; Seefeldt, Lance C.

2016-01-01

The reduction of N2 to NH3 by Mo-dependent nitrogenase at its active-site metal cluster FeMo-cofactor utilizes reductive elimination (re) of Fe-bound hydrides with obligatory loss of H2 to activate the enzyme for binding/reduction of N2. Earlier work showed that wild type nitrogenase and a nitrogenase having amino acid substitutions in the MoFe protein near FeMo-cofactor can catalytically reduce CO2 by 2 or 8 electrons/protons to carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) at low rates. Here, it i...

Recent changes in carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane and the implications for global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novelli, P.C.; Conway, T.J.; Dlugokencky, E.J.; Tans, P.P. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO (United States). Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Lab.

1995-01-01

The article reviews figures for published data on recent changes of atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane in terms of their sources and sinks. The largest source of CO{sub 2} is the combustion of fossil fuels, followed by emissions from deforestation and the oxidation of CO to CO{sub 2}. Carbon monoxide has an indirect influence on the earth`s radiative balance, as if levels of CO increase, levels of OH radicals decline which affects removal of other gases oxidised by this radical, notably CH{sub 4}. Major sources of CO are fossil fuel combustion, emissions from biomass, and oxidation of atmospheric CH{sub 4} and other non-methane hydrocarbons. The latest measurements suggest the depressed growth rates of CO{sub 2}, CO and CH{sub 4} have began to recover. Reasons for this are suggested. Future monitoring of atmospheric species in laboratories around the world, coupled with information on the isotopic signature of the trace gases, will improve our understanding of possible causes for trends in these gases. This will be invaluable in making policy decisions regarding future climate change. 34 refs., 4 figs.

Heat transfer comparison between methane and hydrogen in a spark ignited engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sierens, Roger; Demuynck, Joachim; Paepe, Michel de; Verhelst, Sebastian [Ghent Univ. (Belgium)

2010-07-01

Hydrogen is one of the alternative fuels which are being investigated at Ghent University. NO{sub x} emissions will occur at high engine loads and they are a constraint for power and efficiency optimization. The formation of NO{sub x} emissions is temperature dependent. Consequently, the heat transfer from the burning gases to the cylinder walls has to be accurately modelled if precise computer calculations of the emissions are wanted. Several engine heat transfer models exist but they have been cited to be inaccurate for hydrogen. We have measured the heat flux in a spark ignited engine with a commercially available heat flux sensor. This paper investigates the difference between the heat transfer of hydrogen and a fossil fuel, in this case methane. Measurements with the same indicated power output are compared and the effect of the heat loss on the indicated efficiency is investigated. The power output of hydrogen combustion is lowered by burning lean in contrast to using a throttle in the case of methane. Although the peak in the heat flux of hydrogen is 3 times higher compared to methane for a high engine power output, the indicated efficiency is only 3% lower. The heat loss for hydrogen at a low engine load is smaller than that of methane which results in a higher indicated efficiency. The richness of the hydrogen-air mixture has a great influence on the heat transfer process in contrast to the in-cylinder mass in the case of methane. (orig.)

Microwave Hydrogen Production from Methane

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-01

combustion NOx control of reciprocating engine exhaust and fuel cell application of biogas . Our target is to obtain the methane conversion efficiency...demonstration of MW technology removing and destroying hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and siloxanes from biogas produced by Sacramento Regional Wastewater...running on biogas and is currently conducting the field demonstration of the unit at Tollenaar Dairy in Elk Grove, CA. SMUD, California Air Resources

Air pollution and climate-forcing impacts of a global hydrogen economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Martin G; Diehl, Thomas; Brasseur, Guy P; Zittel, Werner

2003-10-24

If today's surface traffic fleet were powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cell technology, anthropogenic emissions of the ozone precursors nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide could be reduced by up to 50%, leading to significant improvements in air quality throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Model simulations of such a scenario predict a decrease in global OH and an increased lifetime of methane, caused primarily by the reduction of the NOx emissions. The sign of the change in climate forcing caused by carbon dioxide and methane depends on the technology used to generate the molecular hydrogen. A possible rise in atmospheric hydrogen concentrations is unlikely to cause significant perturbations of the climate system.

Hydrogen Safety Issues Compared to Safety Issues with Methane and Propane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, Michael A.

2005-01-01

The hydrogen economy is not possible if the safety standards currently applied to liquid hydrogen and hydrogen gas by many laboratories are applied to devices that use either liquid or gaseous hydrogen. Methane and propane are commonly used by ordinary people without the special training. This report asks, 'How is hydrogen different from flammable gasses that are commonly being used all over the world?' This report compares the properties of hydrogen, methane and propane and how these properties may relate to safety when they are used in both the liquid and gaseous state. Through such an analysis, sensible safety standards for the large-scale (or even small-scale) use of liquid and gaseous hydrogen systems can be developed. This paper is meant to promote discussion of issues related to hydrogen safety so that engineers designing equipment can factor sensible safety standards into their designs

Hydrogen Safety Issues Compared to Safety Issues with Methane andPropane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, Michael A.

2005-08-20

The hydrogen economy is not possible if the safety standards currently applied to liquid hydrogen and hydrogen gas by many laboratories are applied to devices that use either liquid or gaseous hydrogen. Methane and propane are commonly used by ordinary people without the special training. This report asks, 'How is hydrogen different from flammable gasses that are commonly being used all over the world?' This report compares the properties of hydrogen, methane and propane and how these properties may relate to safety when they are used in both the liquid and gaseous state. Through such an analysis, sensible safety standards for the large-scale (or even small-scale) use of liquid and gaseous hydrogen systems can be developed. This paper is meant to promote discussion of issues related to hydrogen safety so that engineers designing equipment can factor sensible safety standards into their designs.

Hydrogen Oxidation on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells in the Presence of Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gang, Xiao; Li, Qingfeng; Hjuler, Hans Aage

1995-01-01

Hydrogen oxidation has been studied on a carbon-supported platinum gas diffusion electrode in a phosphoric acidelectrolyte in the presence of carbon monoxide and oxygen in the feed gas. The poisoning effect of carbon monoxide presentin the feed gas was measured in the temperature range from 80...... to 150°C. It was found that throughout the temperaturerange, the potential loss due to the CO poisoning can be reduced to a great extent by the injection of small amounts ofgaseous oxygen into the hydrogen gas containing carbon monoxide. By adding 5 volume percent (v/o) oxygen, an almost...

Hydrogen production by catalytic processing of renewable methane-rich gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muradov, Nazim; Smith, Franklyn; T-Raissi, Ali [Florida Solar Energy Center, University of Central Florida, Cocoa, FL 32922-5703 (United States)

2008-04-15

Biomass-derived methane-rich gases such as landfill gas (LFG), biogas and digester gas are promising renewable resources for near-future production of hydrogen. The technical and economical feasibility of hydrogen production via catalytic reforming of LFG and other methane-rich gases is evaluated in this paper. The thermodynamic equilibrium calculations and experimental measurements of reformation of methane-rich CH{sub 4}-CO{sub 2} mixtures over Ni-based catalyst were conducted. The problems associated with the catalyst deactivation due to carbon lay down and effects of steam and oxygen on the process sustainability were explored. Two technological approaches distinguished by the mode of heat input to the endothermic process (i.e., external vs autothermal) were modeled using AspenPlus trademark chemical process simulator and validated experimentally. A 5 kW{sub th} pilot unit for hydrogen production from LFG-mimicking CH{sub 4}-CO{sub 2} mixture was fabricated and operated. A preliminary techno-economic assessment indicates that the liquid hydrogen production costs are in the range of 3.00-7.00 per kilogram depending upon the plant capacity, the process heat input option and whether or not carbon sequestration is included in the process. (author)

EVALUATING HYDROGEN PRODUCTION IN BIOGAS REFORMING IN A MEMBRANE REACTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. S. A. Silva

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Syngas and hydrogen production by methane reforming of a biogas (CH4/CO2 = 2.85 using carbon dioxide was evaluated in a fixed bed reactor with a Pd-Ag membrane in the presence of a nickel catalyst (Ni 3.31% weight/γ-Al2O3 at 773 K, 823 K, and 873 K and 1.01×105 Pa. Operation with hydrogen permeation at 873 K increased the methane conversion to approximately 83% and doubled the hydrogen yield relative to operation without hydrogen permeation. A mathematical model was formulated to predict the evolution of the effluent concentrations. Predictions based on the model showed similar evolutions for yields of hydrogen and carbon monoxide at temperatures below 823 K for operations with and without the hydrogen permeation. The hydrogen yield reached approximately 21% at 823 K and 47% at 873 K under hydrogen permeation conditions.

Hydrogen production from steam methane reforming and electrolysis as part of a near-term hydrogen infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, K.

2003-01-01

Building a complete hydrogen infrastructure for a transportation system based on Fuel Cells (FC) and hydrogen is a risky and expensive ordeal, especially given that it is not known with complete certainty that Fuel Cells will indeed replace the gasoline ICE. But how can we expect the diffusion of an automotive technology if there is no infrastructure to support its fuel needs? This gives rise to a chicken and egg type problem. One way to get around this problem is to produce hydrogen when and where it is needed. This solves the problems of high costs associated with expensive pipeline distribution networks, the high energy-intensities associated with liquefaction of hydrogen and the high costs of cryogenic equipment. This paper will consider the advantages and disadvantages of two such hydrogen production mechanisms, namely, onsite production of hydrogen from Electrolysis and onsite production of hydrogen from Steam Methane Reforming (SMR). Although SMR hydrogen may be more economical due to the availability and low cost of methane, under certain market and technological conditions onsite electrolytic hydrogen can be more attractive. The paper analyses the final price of delivered hydrogen based on its sensitivity to market conditions and technology developments. (author)

Autoignited laminar lifted flames of methane/hydrogen mixtures in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Choi, Byungchul

2012-04-01

Autoignited lifted flame behavior in laminar jets of methane/hydrogen mixture fuels has been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. Three regimes of autoignited lifted flames were identified depending on initial temperature and hydrogen to methane ratio. At relatively high initial temperature, addition of a small amount of hydrogen to methane improved ignition appreciably such that the liftoff height decreased significantly. In this hydrogen-assisted autoignition regime, the liftoff height increased with jet velocity, and the characteristic flow time - defined as the ratio of liftoff height to jet velocity - correlated well with the square of the adiabatic ignition delay time. At lower temperature, the autoignited lifted flame demonstrated a unique feature in that the liftoff height decreased with increasing jet velocity. Such behavior has never been observed in lifted laminar and turbulent jet flames. A transition regime existed between these two regimes at intermediate temperature. © 2011 The Combustion Institute.

Hydrogenation of carbon to methane in reduced sponge iron, chromium, and ferrochromium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qayyum, M A; Reeve, D A

1976-01-01

Hydrogenation of excess carbon to methane in reduced sponge iron, chromium and ferrochromium under isothermal and temperature-programmed conditions indicates that it is possible to control the residual carbon content of the metallized products which may be an advantage if further processing of the products is contemplated. Hydrogenation starts above 800/sup 0/C and a shrinking-core kinetic model fits the experimental data. The mean apparent activation energy for the hydrogenation of residual carbon to methane in sponge iron, chromium and ferrochromium is 21 kcal/mole.

Biological methanation of hydrogen within biogas plants: A model-based feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bensmann, A.; Hanke-Rauschenbach, R.; Heyer, R.; Kohrs, F.; Benndorf, D.; Reichl, U.; Sundmacher, K.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Simulation study about direct methanation of hydrogen within biogas plants. • In stationary operation two limitations, namely biological and transfer limit. • Biological limit at 4m H2 3 /m CO2 3 due to stoichiometry. • Dynamic behaviour shows three qualitatively different step responses. • A simple control scheme to meet the output quality was developed. - Abstract: One option to utilize excess electric energy is its conversion to hydrogen and the subsequent methanation. An alternative to the classical chemical Sabatier process is the biological methanation (methanogenesis) within biogas plants. In conventional biogas plants methane and carbon dioxide is produced. The latter can be directly converted to methane by feeding hydrogen into the reactor, since hydrogenotrophic bacteria are present. In the present contribution, a comprehensive simulation study with respect to stationary operating conditions and disturbances is presented. It reveals two qualitative different limitations, namely a biological limit (appr. at 4m H2 3 /m CO2 3 corresponds to 4.2m H2,STP 3 /m liq 3 /d) as well as a transfer limit. A parameter region for a safe operation was defined. The temporary operation with stationary unfeasible conditions was analysed and thereby three qualitatively different disturbances can be distinguished. In one of these the operation for several days is possible. On the basis of these results, a controller was proposed and tested that meets the demands on the conversion of hydrogen and also prevents the washout of the microbial community due to hydrogen overload

Methane Pyrolysis for Hydrogen & Carbon Nanotube Recovery from Sabatier Products, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Development of a microgravity and hypogravity compatible catalytic methane pyrolysis reactor is proposed to recover hydrogen which is lost as methane in the...

Decomposition of methane hydrate for hydrogen production using microwave and radio frequency in-liquid plasma methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahim, Ismail; Nomura, Shinfuku; Mukasa, Shinobu; Toyota, Hiromichi

2015-01-01

This research involves two in-liquid plasma methods of methane hydrate decomposition, one using radio frequency wave (RF) irradiation and the other microwave radiation (MW). The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a practical process for decomposition of methane hydrate directly at the subsea site for fuel gas production. The mechanism for methane hydrate decomposition begins with the dissociation process of methane hydrate formed by CH_4 and water. The process continues with the simultaneously occurring steam methane reforming process and methane cracking reaction, during which the methane hydrate is decomposed releasing CH_4 into H_2, CO and other by-products. It was found that methane hydrate can be decomposed with a faster rate of CH_4 release using microwave irradiation over that using radio frequency irradiation. However, the radio frequency plasma method produces hydrogen with a purity of 63.1% and a CH conversion ratio of 99.1%, which is higher than using microwave plasma method which produces hydrogen with a purity of 42.1% and CH_4 conversion ratio of 85.5%. - Highlights: • The decomposition of methane hydrate is proposed using plasma in-liquid method. • Synthetic methane hydrate is used as the sample for decomposition in plasma. • Hydrogen can be produced from decomposition of methane hydrate. • Hydrogen purity is higher when using radio frequency stimulation.

Comparison methods between methane and hydrogen combustion for useful transfer in furnaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghiea, V.V.

2009-01-01

The advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen use by industrial combustion are critically presented. Greenhouse effect due natural water vapors from atmosphere and these produced by hydrogen industrial combustion is critically analyzed, together with problems of gas fuels containing hydrogen as the relative largest component. A comparison method between methane and hydrogen combustion for pressure loss in burner feeding pipe, is conceived. It is deduced the ratio of radiation useful heat transfer characteristics and convection heat transfer coefficients from combustion gases at industrial furnaces and heat recuperators for hydrogen and methane combustion, establishing specific comparison methods. Using criterial equations special processed for convection heat transfer determination, a calculation generalizing formula is established. The proposed comparison methods are general valid for different gaseous fuels. (author)

Pathways and bioenergetics of anaerobic carbon monoxide fermentation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martijn eDiender

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Carbon monoxide can act as a substrate for different modes of fermentative anaerobic metabolism. The trait of utilizing CO is spread among a diverse group of microorganisms, including members of bacteria as well as archaea. Over the last decade this metabolism has gained interest due to the potential of converting CO rich gas, such as synthesis gas, into bio-based products. Three main types of fermentative CO metabolism can be distinguished: hydrogenogenesis, methanogenesis and acetogenesis, generating hydrogen, methane and acetate, respectively. Here, we review the current knowledge on these three variants of microbial CO metabolism with an emphasis on the potential enzymatic routes and bio-energetics involved.

Pathways and Bioenergetics of Anaerobic Carbon Monoxide Fermentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Diender, Martijn; Stams, Alfons J M; Sousa, Diana Z

2015-01-01

Carbon monoxide can act as a substrate for different modes of fermentative anaerobic metabolism. The trait of utilizing CO is spread among a diverse group of microorganisms, including members of bacteria as well as archaea. Over the last decade this metabolism has gained interest due to the potential of converting CO-rich gas, such as synthesis gas, into bio-based products. Three main types of fermentative CO metabolism can be distinguished: hydrogenogenesis, methanogenesis, and acetogenesis, generating hydrogen, methane and acetate, respectively. Here, we review the current knowledge on these three variants of microbial CO metabolism with an emphasis on the potential enzymatic routes and bio-energetics involved.

Hydrogen and methane production from condensed molasses fermentation soluble by a two-stage anaerobic process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Chiu-Yue; Liang, You-Chyuan; Lay, Chyi-How [Feng Chia Univ., Taichung, Taiwan (China). Dept. of Environmental Engineering and Science; Chen, Chin-Chao [Chungchou Institute of Technology, Taiwan (China). Environmental Resources Lab.; Chang, Feng-Yuan [Feng Chia Univ., Taichung, Taiwan (China). Research Center for Energy and Resources

2010-07-01

The treatment of condensed molasses fermentation soluble (CMS) is a troublesome problem for glutamate manufacturing factory. However, CMS contains high carbohydrate and nutrient contents and is an attractive and commercially potential feedstock for bioenergy production. The aim of this paper is to produce hydrogen and methane by two-stage anaerobic fermentation process. The fermentative hydrogen production from CMS was conducted in a continuously-stirred tank bioreactor (working volume 4 L) which was operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h, organic loading rate (OLR) of 120 kg COD/m{sup 3}-d, temperature of 35 C, pH 5.5 and sewage sludge as seed. The anaerobic methane production was conducted in an up-flow bioreactor (working volume 11 L) which was operated at a HRT of 24 -60 hrs, OLR of 4.0-10 kg COD/m{sup 3}-d, temperature of 35 C, pH 7.0 with using anaerobic granule sludge from fructose manufacturing factory as the seed and the effluent from hydrogen production process as the substrate. These two reactors have been operated successfully for more than 400 days. The steady-state hydrogen content, hydrogen production rate and hydrogen production yield in the hydrogen fermentation system were 37%, 169 mmol-H{sub 2}/L-d and 93 mmol-H{sub 2}/g carbohydrate{sub removed}, respectively. In the methane fermentation system, the peak methane content and methane production rate were 66.5 and 86.8 mmol-CH{sub 4}/L-d with methane production yield of 189.3 mmol-CH{sub 4}/g COD{sub removed} at an OLR 10 kg/m{sup 3}-d. The energy production rate was used to elucidate the energy efficiency for this two-stage process. The total energy production rate of 133.3 kJ/L/d was obtained with 5.5 kJ/L/d from hydrogen fermentation and 127.8 kJ/L/d from methane fermentation. (orig.)

Catalytic reforming of methane to syngas in an oxygen-permeative membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Urano, Takeshi; Kubo, Keiko; Saito, Tomoyuki; Hitomi, Atsushi, E-mail: turano@jp.tdk.com [Materials and Process Development Center, TDK Corporation 570-2, Matsugashita, Minamihatori, Narita, Chiba 286-8588 (Japan)

2011-05-15

For fuel cell applications, partial oxidative reforming of methane to syngas, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, was performed via a dense oxygen-permeative ceramic membrane composed by both ionic and electronic conductive materials. The modification of Ni-based catalyst by noble metals was investigated to increase oxygen permeation flux and decrease carbon deposition during reforming reaction. The role of each component in catalyst was also discussed.

Hydrogen generator, via catalytic partial oxidation of methane for fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Recupero, Vincenzo; Pino, Lidia; Di Leonardo, Raffaele; Lagana', Massimo; Maggio, Gaetano

It is well known that the most acknowledged process for generation of hydrogen for fuel cells is based upon the steam reforming of methane or natural gas. A valid alternative could be a process based on partial oxidation of methane, since the process is mildly exothermic and therefore not energy intensive. Consequently, great interest is expected from conversion of methane into syngas, if an autothermal, low energy intensive, compact and reliable process could be developed. This paper covers the activities, performed by the CNR Institute of Transformation and Storage of Energy (CNR-TAE), on theoretical and experimental studies for a compact hydrogen generator, via catalytic selective partial oxidation of methane, integrated with second generation fuel cells (EC-JOU2 contract). In particular, the project focuses the attention on methane partial oxidation via heterogeneous selective catalysts, in order to: demonstrate the basic catalytic selective partial oxidation of methane (CSPOM) technology in a subscale prototype, equivalent to a nominal output of 5 kWe; develop the CSPOM technology for its application in electric energy production by means of fuel cells; assess, by a balance of plant analysis, and a techno-economic evaluation, the potential benefits of the CSPOM for different categories of fuel cells.

Adsorption and desorption of hydrogen and carbon monoxide were studied on alumina-supported iridium catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Etherton, B.P.

1980-01-01

The adsorption and desorption of hydrogen and carbon monoxide were studied on alumina-supported iridium catalysts which were examined by a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The metal particle size and number of particles per area of catalyst increased with increasing metal loading. The particles were approx. 10 A. in diameter, cubo-octahedral shaped, and approx. 80-90% disperse. The STEM electron beam caused negligible damage to the samples. Hydrogen adsorption measurements showed that the hydrogen-iridium atom ratio was 1.2:1-1.3:1 and increased with decreasing metal loading. Temperature-programed desorption showed four types of adsorbed hydrogen desorbing at -90/sup 0/C (I), 15/sup 0/C (IV), 115/sup 0/C (II), and 245/sup 0/C (III). Types II and IV desorb from single atom sites and Types I and III from multiple atom sites. Type I is in rapid equilibrium with the gas phase. All desorption processes appear to be first order. Carbon monoxide adsorbed nondissociatively at 25/sup 0/C with approx. 0.7:1 CO/Ir atom ratio. It adsorbed primarily in linear forms at low coverage, but a bridged form appeared at high coverage.

Reaction of hydrogen atoms with acrylaldehyde

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koda, Seiichiro; Nakamura, Kazumoto; Hoshino, Takashi; Hikita, Tsutomu

1978-01-01

The reaction of hydrogen atoms with acrylaldehyde was investigated in a fast flow reactor equipped with a time-of-flight type mass spectrometer under reduced pressure. Main reaction products were carbon monoxide, ethylene, ethane, methane, and propanal. Consideration of the distributions of the reaction products under various reaction conditions showed that hydrogen atoms attacked the C=C double bond, especially its inner carbon side under reduced pressure. Resulting hot radicals caused subsequent reactions. The relative value of the apparent bimolecular rate constant of the reaction against that of trans-2-butene with hydrogen atoms was 1.6+-0.2, which supported the above-mentioned initial reaction. (auth.)

Preparation and characterization of a nickel/alumina composite membrane for high temperature hydrogen separation. Application in a membrane reactor for the dry reforming of methane; De la synthese d'une membrane composite nikel/ceramique permselective a l'hydrogene au reacteur membranaire. Application au reformage du methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haag, St.

2003-11-01

The objective of this work was to develop composite inorganic membranes based on nickel or palladium supported on a porous ceramic for high temperature hydrogen separation. These membranes were used in a membrane reactor for the dry reforming of methane in order to shift the chemical equilibrium towards the production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The metal layers were deposited on a tubular alumina support by electroless plating. The Ni and the Pd layers are 1 micron thick. The hydrogen permeation tests were done for high temperatures. The Pd/ceramic membrane is permselective to hydrogen and the H{sub 2}/N{sub 2} separation factor (single gas) is 60 at 400 deg C with a transmembrane pressure difference of 1 bar. With a gas mixture, the H{sub 2}/N{sub 2} separation factor is 13. This membrane is not completely dense and the transport mechanism of hydrogen through the Pd layer is mixed: solution-diffusion through the metal bulk and surface diffusion through the defects of the film. However, an embrittlement of the palladium layer under hydrogen atmosphere was observed at 500 deg C. The Ni/ceramic membrane is stable until 600 deg C, its permselectivity to hydrogen increases with the temperature. The use of a sweep gas can provide a H{sub 2}/N{sub 2} separation factor (mixture) of about 25. The main diffusion mechanism is surface diffusion through the pores. Both membranes are not catalytic. Thus, some catalysts composed of nickel and cobalt supported on MgO, SiO{sub 2} or Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} were prepared. These systems allow to reach theoretical limits of conversion calculated for a conventional fixed bed reactor. In the membrane reactor, an enhancement of the methane conversion (15-20%) is observed with both membranes due the selective removal of hydrogen during the reaction. The Ni/ceramic membrane more stable, more permeable and as selective as the palladium one is a brand new material for high temperature hydrogen separation. (author)

Ratio of carbon monoxide to molecular hydrogen in interstellar dark clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickman, R.L.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and The Ivan A. Getting Laboratories, The Aerospace Corporation)

1978-01-01

Carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen column densities are compared at various locations within 38 interstellar dark clouds. CO column densities were obtained from radio observations of the J=1→0 transitions of the 12 C 16 O and 13 C 16 O isotopic species of the molecule. Corresponding H 2 column densities were inferred by means of visual extinctions derived from star counts, since it is argued that the standard gas-to-extinction ratio can be expected to remain valid in the clouds studied. For locations in the sources possessing line-of-sight visual extinctions in the approximate range 1.5 -2 ) = (5.0 +- 2.5) x 10 5 N 13 between molecular hydrogen and 13 CO LTE column densities. The carbon monoxide molecule can therefore be used as a quantitative ''tracer'' for the (directly unobservable) H 2 content of dark clouds. The above relationship implies that at least approx.12% of the gas-phase carbon in the clouds studied is in the form of CO, provided that the clouds are assumed to be chemically homogeneous. Langer's ion-molecule chemistry for dark clouds appears to agree well with the present work if the fractionation channel of Watson, Anicich, and Huntress is included

Oxidation of methane and hydrogen on Ce1-xGdxO2-δ flourrites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammer Hansen, K.; Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

2005-01-01

The oxidation of methane and hydrogen was studied on cone shaped electrodes with the composition Ce1-xGdxO2-delta (x equals 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4). It was shown that the area specific resistance values measured at open-circuit voltage (OCV) for the oxidation of both methane and hydrogen is lowest...... for the composition Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95. The OCV in wet methane was shown to depend on the material composition. It was shown that stable operation in wet methane could be achieved as long as the temperature was kept below 750degreesC. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society....

An integrated system for hydrogen and methane production during landfill leachate treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hafez, H.M.; Nakhla, G.; El Naggar, H. [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

2009-07-01

This paper described a patent-pending integrated waste-to-energy system that includes a novel biohydrogen reactor with a gravity settler and a second stage conventional anaerobic digester for the production of methane gas. This chemical-free process was tested using a synthetic wastewater/leachate solution at 37 degrees C for 45 days. During the experimental period, the biohydrogenator steadily produced hydrogen (H{sub 2}) with no methane. The maximum hydrogen yield was 400 ml H{sub 2}/g glucose with an average of 345 ml H{sub 2}/g glucose, as compared to 141 and 118 ml H{sub 2}/g glucose for two consecutive runs done in parallel using a conventional continuously stirrer tank reactor. The maximum and average hydrogen production rates in the biohydrogen reactor with gravity settler were 22 and 19 L H{sub 2}/day, the maximum yield was 2.8 mol H{sub 2} /mol glucose higher than 1.6-2.3 mol H{sub 2}/mol glucose reported for continuous-flow reactors. The methane yield for the second stage approached a maximum value of 426 ml methane/g chemical oxygen demand (COD) removed.

Enhancement of bioenergy production from organic wastes by two-stage anaerobic hydrogen and methane production process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luo, Gang; Xie, Li; Zhou, Qi

2011-01-01

The present study investigated a two-stage anaerobic hydrogen and methane process for increasing bioenergy production from organic wastes. A two-stage process with hydraulic retention time (HRT) 3d for hydrogen reactor and 12d for methane reactor, obtained 11% higher energy compared to a single......:12 to 1:14, 6.7%, more energy could be obtained. Microbial community analysis indicated that the dominant bacterial species were different in the hydrogen reactors (Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum-like species) and methane reactors (Clostridium thermocellum-like species). The changes...

A two-stage bioprocess for hydrogen and methane production from rice straw bioethanol residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Hai-Hsuan; Whang, Liang-Ming; Wu, Chao-Wei; Chung, Man-Chien

2012-06-01

This study evaluates a two-stage bioprocess for recovering hydrogen and methane while treating organic residues of fermentative bioethanol from rice straw. The obtained results indicate that controlling a proper volumetric loading rate, substrate-to-biomass ratio, or F/M ratio is important to maximizing biohydrogen production from rice straw bioethanol residues. Clostridium tyrobutyricum, the identified major hydrogen-producing bacteria enriched in the hydrogen bioreactor, is likely utilizing lactate and acetate for biohydrogen production. The occurrence of acetogenesis during biohydrogen fermentation may reduce the B/A ratio and lead to a lower hydrogen production. Organic residues remained in the effluent of hydrogen bioreactor can be effectively converted to methane with a rate of 2.8 mmol CH(4)/gVSS/h at VLR of 4.6 kg COD/m(3)/d. Finally, approximately 75% of COD in rice straw bioethanol residues can be removed and among that 1.3% and 66.1% of COD can be recovered in the forms of hydrogen and methane, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of a Pd-based membrane reactor for hydrogen production from methane steam reforming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assis, A.J.; Hori, C.E.; Silva, L.C.; Murata, V.V. [Universidade Federal de Uberlandia (UFU), MG (Brazil). School of Chemical Engineering]. E-mail: adilsonjassis@gmail.com

2008-07-01

In this work, it is proposed a phenomenological model in steady state to describe the performance of a membrane reactor for hydrogen production through methane steam reform as well as it is performed an optimization of operating conditions. The model is composed by a set of ordinary differential equations from mass, energy and momentum balances and constitutive relations. They were used two different intrinsic kinetic expressions from literature. The results predicted by the model were validated using experimental data. They were investigated the effect of five important process parameters, inlet reactor pressure (PR0), methane feed flow rate (FCH40), sweep gas flow rate (FI), external reactor temperature (TW) and steam to methane feed flow ratio (M), both on methane conversion (XCH{sub 4} ) and hydrogen recovery (YH{sub 2}). The best operating conditions were obtained through simple parametric optimization and by a method based on gradient, which uses the computer code DIRCOL in FORTRAN. It is shown that high methane conversion (96%) as well as hydrogen recovery (91%) can be obtained, using the optimized conditions. (author)

Deep Conversion of Carbon Monoxide to Hydrogen and Formation of Acetate by the Anaerobic Thermophile Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans

OpenAIRE

Henstra, Anne M.; Stams, Alfons J. M.

2011-01-01

Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans is a thermophilic strictly anaerobic bacterium that catalyses the water gas shift reaction, the conversion of carbon monoxide with water to molecular hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The thermodynamically favorable growth temperature, compared to existing industrial catalytic processes, makes this organism an interesting alternative for production of cheap hydrogen gas suitable to fuel CO-sensitive fuel cells in a future hydrogen economy, provided sufficiently lo...

Solubilities of hydrogen and methane in coal liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Ho-mu; Sebastian, H M; Simnick, J J; Chao, Kwang Chu

1981-04-01

The solubilities of hydrogen and methane in Exxon Donor Solvent (EDS) and Solvent Refined Coal II (SRC-II) coal liquids are determined at 190 and 270 C and pressures to 250 atm. Two narrow boiling distillate cuts from EDS and three from SRC-II are studied.

Autoignited laminar lifted flames of methane/hydrogen mixtures in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Choi, Byungchul; Chung, Suk-Ho

2012-01-01

Autoignited lifted flame behavior in laminar jets of methane/hydrogen mixture fuels has been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. Three regimes of autoignited lifted flames were identified depending on initial temperature and hydrogen

Catalytic activity of mono and bimetallic Zn/Cu/MWCNTs catalysts for the thermocatalyzed conversion of methane to hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erdelyi, B. [Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, P.J. Šafárik University, Moyzesova 11, 041 54 Košice (Slovakia); Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science, P.J. Šafárik University, Park Angelium 9, 040 01 Košice (Slovakia); Oriňak, A., E-mail: andrej.orinak@upjs.sk [Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, P.J. Šafárik University, Moyzesova 11, 041 54 Košice (Slovakia); Oriňaková, R. [Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, P.J. Šafárik University, Moyzesova 11, 041 54 Košice (Slovakia); Lorinčík, J. [Research Center Rez, Hlavní 130, 250 68 Husinec-Řež (Czech Republic); Jerigová, M. [Department of Physical Chemistry, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina 842 15 Bratislava 4 (Slovakia); Velič, D. [Department of Physical Chemistry, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina 842 15 Bratislava 4 (Slovakia); International Laser Centre, Ilkovičová 3, 841 01 Bratislava (Slovakia); Mičušík, M. [Polymer institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravská cesta 9, 84541 Bratislava (Slovakia); and others

2017-02-28

Highlights: • Zn/Cu/MWCNTs catalyst with good activity. • Methane conversion to hydrogen with high effectivity. • ZnO/Cu responsible for catalytic activity. - Abstract: Mono and bimetallic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) fortified with Cu and Zn metal particles were studied to improve the efficiency of the thermocatalytic conversion of methane to hydrogen. The surface of the catalyst and the dispersion of the metal particles were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It was confirmed that the metal particles were successfully dispersed on the MWCNT surface and XPS analysis showed that the Zn was oxidised to ZnO at high temperatures. The conversion of methane to hydrogen during the catalytic pyrolysis was studied by pyrolysis gas chromatography using different amounts of catalyst. The best yields of hydrogen were obtained using pyrolysis conditions of 900 °C and 1.2 mg of Zn/Cu/MWCNT catalyst for 1.5 mL of methane.The initial conversion of methane to hydrogen obtained with Zn/Cu/MWCNTs was 49%, which represent a good conversion rate of methane to hydrogen for a non-noble metal catalyst.

Effect of methanogenic substrates on anaerobic oxidation of methane and sulfate reduction by an anaerobic methanotrophic enrichment.

KAUST Repository

Meulepas, Roel J W

2010-05-06

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) coupled to sulfate reduction (SR) is assumed to be a syntrophic process, in which methanotrophic archaea produce an interspecies electron carrier (IEC), which is subsequently utilized by sulfate-reducing bacteria. In this paper, six methanogenic substrates are tested as candidate-IECs by assessing their effect on AOM and SR by an anaerobic methanotrophic enrichment. The presence of acetate, formate or hydrogen enhanced SR, but did not inhibit AOM, nor did these substrates trigger methanogenesis. Carbon monoxide also enhanced SR but slightly inhibited AOM. Methanol did not enhance SR nor did it inhibit AOM, and methanethiol inhibited both SR and AOM completely. Subsequently, it was calculated at which candidate-IEC concentrations no more Gibbs free energy can be conserved from their production from methane at the applied conditions. These concentrations were at least 1,000 times lower can the final candidate-IEC concentration in the bulk liquid. Therefore, the tested candidate-IECs could not have been produced from methane during the incubations. Hence, acetate, formate, methanol, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen can be excluded as sole IEC in AOM coupled to SR. Methanethiol did inhibit AOM and can therefore not be excluded as IEC by this study.

Hydrogen Recovery by ECR Plasma Pyrolysis of Methane, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Development of a microgravity and hypogravity compatible Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Reactor is proposed to recover hydrogen which is...

Hydrogen Purification and Recycling for an Integrated Oxygen Recovery System Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Abney, Morgan B.; Greenwood, Zachary; Wall, Terry; Miller, Lee; Wheeler, Ray

2016-01-01

The United States Atmosphere Revitalization life support system on the International Space Station (ISS) performs several services for the crew including oxygen generation, trace contaminant control, carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, and oxygen recovery. Oxygen recovery is performed using a Sabatier reactor developed by Hamilton Sundstrand, wherein CO2 is reduced with hydrogen in a catalytic reactor to produce methane and water. The water product is purified in the Water Purification Assembly and recycled to the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) to provide O2 to the crew. This architecture results in a theoretical maximum oxygen recovery from CO2 of approximately 54% due to the loss of reactant hydrogen in Sabatier-produced methane that is currently vented outside of ISS. Plasma Methane Pyrolysis technology (PPA), developed by Umpqua Research Company, provides the capability to further close the Atmosphere Revitalization oxygen loop by recovering hydrogen from Sabatier-produced methane. A key aspect of this technology approach is to purify the hydrogen from the PPA product stream which includes acetylene, unreacted methane and byproduct water and carbon monoxide. In 2015, four sub-scale hydrogen separation systems were delivered to NASA for evaluation. These included two electrolysis single-cell hydrogen purification cell stacks developed by Sustainable Innovations, LLC, a sorbent-based hydrogen purification unit using microwave power for sorbent regeneration developed by Umpqua Research Company, and a LaNi4.6Sn0.4 metal hydride produced by Hydrogen Consultants, Inc. Here we report the results of these evaluations, discuss potential architecture options, and propose future work.

Development of a combined bio-hydrogen- and methane-production unit using dark fermentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunstermann, R.; Widmann, R. [Duisburg-Essen Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Urban Water and Waste Management

2010-07-01

Hydrogen is regarded as a source of energy of the future. Currently, hydrogen is produced, predominantly, by electrolysis of water by using electricity or by stream reforming of natural gas. So both methods are based on fossil fuels. If the used electricity is recovered from renewable recourses, hydrogen produced by water electrolysis may be a clean solution. At present, the production of hydrogen by biological processes finds more and more attention world far. The biology provides a wide range of approaches to produce hydrogen, including bio-photolysis as well as photo-fermentation and dark-fermentation. Currently these biological technologies are not suitable for solving every day energy problems [1]. But the dark-fermentation is a promising approach to produce hydrogen in a sustainable way and was already examined in some projects. At mesophilic conditions this process provides a high yield of hydrogen by less energy demand, [2]. Short hydraulic retention times (HRT) and high metabolic rates are advantages of the process. The incomplete transformation of the organic components into various organic acids is a disadvantage. Thus a second process step is required. Therefore the well known biogas-technique is used to degrade the organic acids predominantly acetic and butyric acid from the hydrogen-production unit into CH{sub 4} and CO{sub 2}. This paper deals with the development of a combined hydrogen and methane production unit using dark fermentation at mesophilic conditions. The continuous operation of the combined hydrogen and methane production out of DOC loaded sewages and carbohydrate rich biowaste is necessary for the examination of the technical and economical implementation. The hydrogen step shows as first results hydrogen concentration in the biogas between 40 % and 60 %.The operating efficiency of the combined production of hydrogen and methane shall be checked as a complete system. (orig.)

Two phases fermentative process for hydrogen and methane production from cassava wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aryane Mota Oliveira

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hydrogen and methane production was investigated in two phases of fermentative process. Objective: At the acidogenic phase, an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor was fed with cassava wastewater producing hydrogen. Methods: Expanded clay was used as a support material for biomass immobilization. The reactor was operated with HRT ranging from 8-1 h. Results: The best hydrogen yield production was 1.91 mol H2/mol glucose at HRT of 2 h. At the methanogenic phase, the acidogenic process effluent fed a fixed-bed reactor producing methane. Conclusion: Sururu (Mytella falcata shells was used as support acted as pH neutralizer in the fixed-bed reactor, yielding best (0.430±0.150 Lmethane/gCOD with 12h HRT phase.

Application of microscopy technology in thermo-catalytic methane decomposition to hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mei, Irene Lock Sow, E-mail: irene.sowmei@gmail.com; Lock, S. S. M., E-mail: serenelock168@gmail.com; Abdullah, Bawadi, E-mail: bawadi-abdullah@petronas.com.my [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Sri Iskandar, 31750, Perak (Malaysia)

2015-07-22

Hydrogen production from the direct thermo-catalytic decomposition of methane is a promising alternative for clean fuel production because it produces pure hydrogen without any CO{sub x} emissions. However, thermal decomposition of methane can hardly be of any practical and empirical interest in the industry unless highly efficient and effective catalysts, in terms of both specific activity and operational lifetime have been developed. In this work, bimetallic Ni-Pd on gamma alumina support have been developed for methane cracking process by using co-precipitation and incipient wetness impregnation method. The calcined catalysts were characterized to determine their morphologies and physico-chemical properties by using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis. The results suggested that that the catalyst which is prepared by the co-precipitation method exhibits homogeneous morphology, higher surface area, have uniform nickel and palladium dispersion and higher thermal stability as compared to the catalyst which is prepared by wet impregnation method. This characteristics are significant to avoid deactivation of the catalysts due to sintering and carbon deposition during methane cracking process.

Numerical analysis of hydrogen and methane propagation during testing of combustion engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dvořák V.

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The research of gas-fuelled combustion engines using hydrogen or methane require accordingly equipped test benches which take respect to the higher dangerous of self ignition accidents. This article deals with numerical calculations of flow in laboratory during simulated leakage of gas-fuel from fuel system of tested engine. The influences of local suction and influences of roof exhausters on the flow in the laboratory and on the gas propagation are discussed. Results obtained for hydrogen and for methane are compared. Conclusions for design and performance of suction devices and test benches are deduced from these results.

Improving accuracy and precision of ice core δD(CH4 analyses using methane pre-pyrolysis and hydrogen post-pyrolysis trapping and subsequent chromatographic separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Bock

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Firn and polar ice cores offer the only direct palaeoatmospheric archive. Analyses of past greenhouse gas concentrations and their isotopic compositions in air bubbles in the ice can help to constrain changes in global biogeochemical cycles in the past. For the analysis of the hydrogen isotopic composition of methane (δD(CH4 or δ2H(CH4 0.5 to 1.5 kg of ice was hitherto used. Here we present a method to improve precision and reduce the sample amount for δD(CH4 measurements in (ice core air. Pre-concentrated methane is focused in front of a high temperature oven (pre-pyrolysis trapping, and molecular hydrogen formed by pyrolysis is trapped afterwards (post-pyrolysis trapping, both on a carbon-PLOT capillary at −196 °C. Argon, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, unpyrolysed methane and krypton are trapped together with H2 and must be separated using a second short, cooled chromatographic column to ensure accurate results. Pre- and post-pyrolysis trapping largely removes the isotopic fractionation induced during chromatographic separation and results in a narrow peak in the mass spectrometer. Air standards can be measured with a precision better than 1‰. For polar ice samples from glacial periods, we estimate a precision of 2.3‰ for 350 g of ice (or roughly 30 mL – at standard temperature and pressure (STP – of air with 350 ppb of methane. This corresponds to recent tropospheric air samples (about 1900 ppb CH4 of about 6 mL (STP or about 500 pmol of pure CH4.

Enhanced coproduction of hydrogen and methane from cornstalks by a three-stage anaerobic fermentation process integrated with alkaline hydrolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xi-Yu; Liu, Chun-Zhao

2012-01-01

A three-stage anaerobic fermentation process including H(2) fermentation I, H(2) fermentation II, methane fermentation was developed for the coproduction of hydrogen and methane from cornstalks. Hydrogen production from cornstalks using direct microbial conversion by Clostridium thermocellum 7072 was markedly enhanced in the two-stage thermophilic hydrogen fermentation process integrated with alkaline treatment. The highest total hydrogen yield from cornstalks in the two-stage fermentation process reached 74.4 mL/g-cornstalk. The hydrogen fermentation effluents and alkaline hydrolyzate were further used for methane fermentation by anaerobic granular sludge, and the total methane yield reached 205.8 mL/g-cornstalk. The total energy recovery in the three-stage anaerobic fermentation process integrated with alkaline hydrolysis reached 70.0%. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sequential hydrogen and methane coproduction from sugary wastewater treatment by "CSTRHyd-UASBMet" system

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Ping

2017-10-01

Potentiality of sequential hydrogen bioproduction from sugary wastewater treatment was investigated using continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) for various substrate COD concentrations and HRTs. At optimum substrate concentration of 6 g COD/L, hydrogen could be efficiently produced from CSTR with the highest production rate of 3.00 (±0.04) L/L reactor d at HRT of 6 h. The up flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor was used for continuous methane bioproduction from the effluents of hydrogen bioproduction. At optimal HRT 12 h, methane could be produced with a production rate of 2.27 (±0.08) L/L reactor d and the COD removal efficiency reached up to the maximum 82.3%.

Hydrogen and Methane Response of Pd Gate MOS Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Preeti Pandey

2009-04-01

Full Text Available A sensor based on Pd/SiO2/Si MOS capacitor was fabricated on p type (1-6 ΩCm Si with thermal oxide layer of thickness about 33Ǻ. Sensor properties of the MOS structure were studied towards hydrogen (500- 3500 ppm in air and methane gas (1000-2500 ppm in air at room temperature and 140˚C respectively. The response of the sensor was measured as shift in C-V curve of the MOS structure. The sensitivity of the sensor towards the hydrogen (73 % at 0.03 V bias was better than methane (19.1 % at 0.68 V bias. SEM (Scanning electron microscopy and AFM image of the metal film show the porous structure which believed to be facilitating the catalytic oxidation of the insulator surface and higher gas response. High sensitivity of the sensor can be attributed to the change of interface state density on exposure of gases along with the formation of dipole layer.

Thermo-electrochemical production of compressed hydrogen from methane with near-zero energy loss

Science.gov (United States)

Malerød-Fjeld, Harald; Clark, Daniel; Yuste-Tirados, Irene; Zanón, Raquel; Catalán-Martinez, David; Beeaff, Dustin; Morejudo, Selene H.; Vestre, Per K.; Norby, Truls; Haugsrud, Reidar; Serra, José M.; Kjølseth, Christian

2017-11-01

Conventional production of hydrogen requires large industrial plants to minimize energy losses and capital costs associated with steam reforming, water-gas shift, product separation and compression. Here we present a protonic membrane reformer (PMR) that produces high-purity hydrogen from steam methane reforming in a single-stage process with near-zero energy loss. We use a BaZrO3-based proton-conducting electrolyte deposited as a dense film on a porous Ni composite electrode with dual function as a reforming catalyst. At 800 °C, we achieve full methane conversion by removing 99% of the formed hydrogen, which is simultaneously compressed electrochemically up to 50 bar. A thermally balanced operation regime is achieved by coupling several thermo-chemical processes. Modelling of a small-scale (10 kg H2 day-1) hydrogen plant reveals an overall energy efficiency of >87%. The results suggest that future declining electricity prices could make PMRs a competitive alternative for industrial-scale hydrogen plants integrating CO2 capture.

Experimental evaluation of methane dry reforming process on a membrane reactor to hydrogen production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Fabiano S.A.; Benachour, Mohand; Abreu, Cesar A.M. [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Dept. of Chemical Engineering], Email: f.aruda@yahoo.com.br

2010-07-01

In a fixed bed membrane reactor evaluations of methane-carbon dioxide reforming over a Ni/{gamma}- Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst were performed at 773 K, 823 K and 873 K. A to convert natural gas into syngas a fixed-bed reactor associate with a selective membrane was employed, where the operating procedures allowed to shift the chemical equilibrium of the reaction in the direction of the products of the process. Operations under hydrogen permeation, at 873 K, promoted the increase of methane conversion, circa 83%, and doubled the yield of hydrogen production, when compared with operations where no hydrogen permeation occurred. (author)

Photosynthesis of hydrogen and methane as key components for clean energy system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seng Sing Tan et al

2007-01-01

Full Text Available While researchers are trying to solve the world's energy woes, hydrogen is becoming the key component in sustainable energy systems. Hydrogen could be produced through photocatalytic water-splitting technology. It has also been found that hydrogen and methane could be produced through photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with water. In this exploratory study, instead of coating catalysts on a substrate, pellet form of catalyst, which has better adsorption capacity, was used in the photo-reduction of carbon dioxide with water. In the experiment, some water was first absorbed into titanium dioxide pellets. Highly purified carbon dioxide gas was then discharged into a reactor containing these wet pellets, which were then illuminated continuously using UVC lamps. Gaseous samples accumulated in the reactor were extracted at different intervals to analyze the product yields. The results confirmed that methane and hydrogen were photosynthesized using pellet form of TiO2 catalysts. Hydrogen was formed at a rate as high as 0.16 micromoles per hour (μmol h−1. The maximum formation rate of CH4 was achieved at 0.25 μmol h−1 after 24 h of irradiation. CO was also detected.

Characteristics of autoignited laminar lifted flames in heated coflow jets of carbon monoxide/hydrogen mixtures

KAUST Repository

Choi, Byungchul

2012-06-01

The characteristics of autoignited lifted flames in laminar jets of carbon monoxide/hydrogen fuels have been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. In result, as the jet velocity increased, the blowoff was directly occurred from the nozzle-attached flame without experiencing a stabilized lifted flame, in the non-autoignited regime. In the autoignited regime, the autoignited lifted flame of carbon monoxide diluted by nitrogen was affected by the water vapor content in the compressed air oxidizer, as evidenced by the variation of the ignition delay time estimated by numerical calculation. In particular, in the autoignition regime at low temperatures with added hydrogen, the liftoff height of the autoignited lifted flames decreased and then increased as the jet velocity increased. Based on the mechanism in which the autoignited laminar lifted flame is stabilized by ignition delay time, the liftoff height can be influenced not only by the heat loss, but also by the preferential diffusion between momentum and mass diffusion in fuel jets during the autoignition process. © 2012 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.

A Green Process for High-Concentration Ethylene and Hydrogen Production from Methane in a Plasma-Followed-by-Catalyst Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Kangjun; Li Xiaosong; Zhu Aimin

2011-01-01

A green process for the oxygen-free conversion of methane to high-concentration ethylene and hydrogen in a plasma-followed-by-catalyst (PFC) reactor is presented. Without any catalysts and with pure methane used as the feed gas, a stable kilohertz spark discharge leads to an acetylene yield of 64.1%, ethylene yield of 2.5% and hydrogen yield of 59.0% with 80.0% of methane conversion at a methane flow rate of 50 cm 3 /min and a specific input energy of 38.4 kJ/L. In the effluent gas from a stable kilohertz spark discharge reactor, the concentrations of acetylene, ethylene and hydrogen were 18.1%, 0.7% and 66.9%, respectively. When catalysts Pd-Ag/SiO 2 were employed in the second stage with discharge conditions same as in the case of plasma alone, the PFC reactor provides an ethylene yield of 52.1% and hydrogen yield of 43.4%. The concentrations of ethylene and hydrogen in the effluent gas from the PFC reactor were found to be as high as 17.1% and 62.6%, respectively. Moreover, no acetylene was detected in the effluent gas. This means that a high concentration of ethylene and oxygen-free hydrogen can be co-produced directly from methane in the PFC reactor.

Effects of hydrogen addition and nitrogen dilution on the laminar flame characteristics of premixed methane-air flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tahtouh, T.; Halter, F.; Mounaim-Rousselle, C. [Institut PRISME, Universite d' Orleans, 8 rue Leonard de Vinci-45072, Orleans Cedex 2 (France); Samson, E. [PSA Peugeot Citroen (France)

2009-10-15

The effect of hydrogen addition and nitrogen dilution on laminar flame characteristics was investigated. The spherical expanding flame technique, in a constant volume bomb, was employed to extract laminar flame characteristics. The mole fraction of hydrogen in the methane-hydrogen mixture was varied from 0 to 1 and the mole fraction of nitrogen in the total mixture (methane-hydrogen-air-diluent) from 0 to 0.35. Measurements were performed at an initial pressure of 0.1 MPa and an initial temperature of 300 K. The mixtures investigated were under stoichiometric conditions. Based on experimental measurements, a new correlation for calculating the laminar burning velocity of methane-hydrogen-air-nitrogen mixtures is proposed. The laminar burning velocity was found to increase linearly with hydrogen mass fraction for all dilution ratios while the burned gas Markstein length decreases with the increase in hydrogen amount in the mixture except for high hydrogen mole fractions (>0.6). Nitrogen dilution has a nonlinear reducing effect on the laminar burning velocity and an increasing effect on the burned gas Markstein length. The experimental results and the proposed correlation obtained are in good agreement with literature values. (author)

Effect of hydrogen on hydrogen-methane turbulent non-premixed flame under MILD condition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mardani, Amir; Tabejamaat, Sadegh [Department of Aerospace engineering, Amirkabir university of technology (Tehran polytechnic), Hafez Ave., PO. Box: 15875-4413, Tehran (Iran)

2010-10-15

Energy crises and the preservation of the global environment are placed man in a dilemma. To deal with these problems, finding new sources of fuel and developing efficient and environmentally friendly energy utilization technologies are essential. Hydrogen containing fuels and combustion under condition of the moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) are good choices to replace the traditional ones. In this numerical study, the turbulent non-premixed CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2} jet flame issuing into a hot and diluted co-flow air is considered to emulate the combustion of hydrogen containing fuels under MILD conditions. This flame is related to the experimental condition of Dally et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst. 29 (2002) 1147-1154]. In general, the modelling is carried out using the EDC model, to describe turbulence-chemistry interaction, and the DRM-22 reduced mechanism and the GRI2.11 full mechanism to represent the chemical reactions of H{sub 2}/methane jet flame. The effect of hydrogen content of fuel on flame structure for two co-flow oxygen levels is studied by considering three fuel mixtures, 5%H{sub 2}+95%CH{sub 4}, 10%H{sub 2}+90%CH{sub 4} and 20% H{sub 2}+80%CH{sub 4}(by mass). In this study, distribution of species concentrations, mixture fraction, strain rate, flame entrainment, turbulent kinetic energy decay and temperature are investigated. Results show that the hydrogen addition to methane leads to improve mixing, increase in turbulent kinetic energy decay along the flame axis, increase in flame entrainment, higher reaction intensities and increase in mixture ignitability and rate of heat release. (author)

Hydrogen and methane production from desugared molasses using a two‐stage thermophilic anaerobic process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kongjan, Prawit; O-Thong, Sompong; Angelidaki, Irini

2013-01-01

Hydrogen and methane production from desugared molasses by a two‐stage thermophilic anaerobic process was investigated in a series of two up‐flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. The first reactor that was dominated with hydrogen‐producing bacteria of Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharo......Hydrogen and methane production from desugared molasses by a two‐stage thermophilic anaerobic process was investigated in a series of two up‐flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. The first reactor that was dominated with hydrogen‐producing bacteria of Thermoanaerobacterium...... molasses. Furthermore, the mixed gas with a volumetric content of 16.5% H2, 38.7% CO2, and 44.8% CH4, containing approximately 15% energy by hydrogen is viable to be bio‐hythane....

Study on radiation degradation of hydroxylamine derivatives. Pt.3: Qualitative and quantitative analyses of hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced by radiation degradation of N,N-diethyl hydroxylamine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jinhua; Bao Borong; Wu Minghong; Sun Xilian

2004-01-01

The qualitative and quantitative analysis of hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced by radiation degradation of N,N-diethyl hydroxylamine is performed on a 2 m column packed with 5 Angstrom molecular sieve and equipped with a thermal conductivity detector. The analysis of hydrogen employs argon as a carrier gas, the column temperature is 85 degree C and the detector temperature is 110 degree C; the analysis of carbon monoxide employs hydrogen as a carrier gas, the column temperature is 50 degree C and the detector temperature is 80 degree C. The results show that the volume fraction of hydrogen is increased with the increase of dose, but has little relationship with the concentration of N,N-diethyl hydroxylamine. Carbon monoxide is only produced when the absorption dose is very high and the volume fraction is very low

Toxicity of carbon monoxide hydrogen cyanide gas mixtures : exposure concentration, time to incapacitation, carboxyhemoglobin and blood cyanide parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-04-01

During aircraft interior fires, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) are produced in sufficient amounts to cause incapacitation and death. Time-to-incapacitation (ti) is a practical parameter for estimating escape time in fire environments...

Mechanism of the flame ionization detector. II. Isotope effects and heteroatom effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Torkil

1997-01-01

reactions in the hydrogen flame of compounds added to the hydrogen gas in low concentrations were followed. Alcohols, ethers, ketones, and esters all produced methane and carbon monoxide, while amines produced methane and hydrogen cyanide, halogen compounds methane and hydrogen halide, etc. The FID response...

Atomic hydrogen and diatomic titanium-monoxide molecular spectroscopy in laser-induced plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Parigger, Christian G.; Woods, Alexander C.

2017-03-01

This article gives a brief review of experimental studies of hydrogen Balmer series emission spectra. Ongoing research aims to evaluate early plasma evolution following optical breakdown in laboratory air. Of interest is as well laser ablation of metallic titanium and characterization of plasma evolution. Emission of titanium monoxide is discussed together with modeling of diatomic spectra to infer temperature. The behavior of titanium particles in plasma draws research interests ranging from the modeling of stellar atmospheres to the enhancement of thin film production via pulsed laser deposition.

Effect of dietary nitrate level on enteric methane production, hydrogen emission, rumen fermentation, and nutrient digestibility in dairy cows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olijhoek, D.W.; Hellwing, A.L.F.; Brask, M.; Weisbjerg, M.R.; Højberg, O.; Larsen, M.K.; Dijkstra, Jan; Erlandsen, E.J.; Lund, P.

2016-01-01

Nitrate may lower methane production in ruminants by competing with methanogenesis for available hydrogen in the rumen. This study evaluated the effect of 4 levels of dietary nitrate addition on enteric methane production, hydrogen emission, feed intake, rumen fermentation, nutrient

Conversion of methane to hydrogen by a pulsed plasma reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghorbanzadeh, A. M.; Matin, N.; Parandvar, M. R.; Rasouli, C.; Mazouchi, A. M.

2003-01-01

A pulsed atmospheric glow discharge, employing corona as a preionization, was used to convert methane to hydrogen and higher hydrocarbons. The experimental results showed that the overall conversion and specific energy, defined as energy needed to dissociate one mole methane, was mainly dependent on E/P, banking capacitance, repetition rate and flow rate. The dependence on E/P, especially, is more pronounced. The minimum specific energy was less than 1 MJ and it is expected that it could be further lowered by choosing higher E/P, lower banking capacitance and introducing an oxidizer to enhance the conversion efficiency

The formation of nitrogeneous compounds in the γ-radiolyses of liquid nitrogen solutions of hydrogen, methane, and ethane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horigome, Keiichi; Hirokami, Shun-ichi; Sato, Shin

1978-01-01

The γ-radiolyses of liquid nitrogen solutions of hydrogen, methane, and ethane have been reinvestigated. A complete survey of nitrogen-containing products has been attempted. The nitrogeneous compounds observed were ammonia (0.7) and hydrogen azide (0.02) in the case of hydrogen, ammonia (0.3), hydrogen cyanide (0.1), methyl azide (0.01), and a polymer in the case of methane, and ammonia (0.3), hydrogen cyanide (0.05), acetonitrile (0.04), ethyl azide (0.01), and a polymer in the case of ethane. The values in parentheses are the G-values obtained at optimum conditions. The hydrolysis of the polymer obtained with methane gave formaldehyde in amounts which correspond to the fact that the G-value of the nitrogen atoms which were converted into the polymer is about 1.0. In order to explain these results, possible reaction mechanisms are discussed. (auth.)

Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides from industrial gases by hydrogen or methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelmann Pirez, M.

2004-12-01

This work deals with the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO x ), contained in the effluents of industrial plants, by hydrogen or methane. The aim is to replace ammonia, used as reducing agent, in the conventional process. The use of others reducing agents such as hydrogen or methane is interesting for different reasons: practical, economical and ecological. The catalyst has to convert selectively NO into N 2 , in presence of an excess of oxygen, steam and sulfur dioxide. The developed catalyst is constituted by a support such as perovskites, particularly LaCoO 3 , on which are dispersed noble metals (palladium, platinum). The interaction between the noble metal and the support, generated during the activation of the catalyst, allows to minimize the water and sulfur dioxide inhibitor phenomena on the catalytic performances, particularly in the reduction of NO by hydrogen. (O.M.)

Reaction-transport simulations of non-oxidative methane conversion with continuous hydrogen removal: Homogeneous-heterogeneous methane reaction pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Lin; Borry, Richard W.; Iglesia, Enrique

2000-01-01

Detailed kinetic-transport models were used to explore thermodynamic and kinetic barriers in the non-oxidative conversion of CH4 via homogeneous and homogeneous-heterogeneous pathways and the effects of continuous hydrogen removal and of catalytic sites on attainable yields of useful C2-C10 products. The homogeneous kinetic model combines separately developed models for low-conversion pyrolysis and for chain growth to form large aromatics and carbon. The H2 formed in the reaction decreases CH4 pyrolysis rates and equilibrium conversions and it favors the formation of lighter products. The removal of H2 along tubular reactors with permeable walls increases reaction rates and equilibrium CH4 conversions. C2-C10 yields reach values greater than 90 percent at intermediate values of dimensionless transport rates (delta=1-10), defined as the ratio hydrogen transport and methane conversion rates. Homogeneous reactions require impractical residence times, even with H2 removal, because of slow initiation and chain transfer rates. The introduction of heterogeneous chain initiation pathways using surface sites that form methyl radicals eliminates the induction period without influencing the homogeneous product distribution. Methane conversion, however, occurs predominately in the chain transfer regime, within which individual transfer steps and the formation of C2 intermediates become limited by thermodynamic constraints. Catalytic sites alone cannot overcome these constraints. Catalytic membrane reactors with continuous H2 removal remove these thermodynamic obstacles and decrease the required residence time. Reaction rates become limited by homogeneous reactions of C2 products to form C6+ aromatics. Higher delta values lead to subsequent conversion of the desired C2-C10 products to larger polynuclear aromatics. We conclude that catalytic methane pyrolysis at the low temperatures required for restricted chain growth and the elimination of thermodynamics constraints via

Carbon Monoxide Hydrogenation on Ice Surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuwahata, Kazuaki; Ohno, Kaoru

2018-03-14

We have performed density functional calculations to investigate the carbon monoxide hydrogenation reaction (H+CO→HCO), which is important in interstellar clouds. We found that the activation energy of the reaction on amorphous ice is lower than that on crystalline ice. In the course of this study, we demonstrated that it is roughly possible to use the excitation energy of the reactant molecule (CO) in place of the activation energy. This relationship holds also for small water clusters at the CCSD level of calculation and the two-layer-level ONIOM (CCSD : X3LYP) calculation. Generally, since it is computationally demanding to estimate activation energies of chemical reactions in a circumstance of many water molecules, this relationship enables one to determine the activation energy of this reaction on ice surfaces from the knowledge of the excitation energy of CO only. Incorporating quantum-tunneling effects, we discuss the reaction rate on ice surfaces. Our estimate that the reaction rate on amorphous ice is almost twice as large as that on crystalline ice is qualitatively consistent with the experimental evidence reported by Hidaka et al. [Chem. Phys. Lett., 2008, 456, 36.]. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Autothermal catalytic pyrolysis of methane as a new route to hydrogen production with reduced CO{sub 2} emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muradov, Nazim; Smith, Franklyn; Huang, Cunping; T-Raissi, Ali [Florida Solar Energy Center, University of Central Florida, Cocoa, FL 32922 (United States)

2006-08-15

Hydrogen production plants are among major sources of CO{sub 2} emissions into the atmosphere. The objective of this paper is to explore new routes to hydrogen production from natural gas (or methane) with drastically reduced CO{sub 2} emissions. One approach analyzed in this paper is based on thermocatalytic decomposition (or pyrolysis) of methane into hydrogen gas and elemental carbon over carbon-based catalysts. Several heat input options to the endothermic process are discussed in the paper. The authors conduct thermodynamic analysis of methane decomposition in the presence of small amounts of oxygen in an autothermal (or thermo-neutral) regime using AspenPlus(TM) chemical process simulator. Methane conversion, products yield, effluent gas composition, process enthalpy flows as a function of temperature, pressure and O{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} ratio has been determined. CO{sub 2} emissions (per m{sup 3} of H{sub 2} produced) from the process could potentially be a factor of 3-5 less than from conventional hydrogen production processes. Oxygen-assisted decomposition of methane over activated carbon (AC) and AC-supported iron catalysts over wide range of temperatures and O{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} ratios was experimentally verified. Problems associated with the catalyst deactivation and the effect of iron doping on the catalyst stability are discussed. (author)

Visualizing a Catalyst at Work during the Ignition of the Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kimmerle, Bertram; Grunwaldt, Jan-Dierk; Baiker, Alfons

2009-01-01

We present a spatiotemporal operando X-ray absorption study of a highly dynamic process, the ignition of the noble metal catalyzed partial oxidation of methane. Evolvement and propagation of the platinum component's structural changes are investigated with a high-speed X-ray camera, which...... in combination with temperature profiling by IR-thermography and catalytic activity measurements by online mass spectrometry gives insight into the first stages of the ignition of the reaction toward hydrogen and carbon monoxide....

Reaction of methane with coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, K.; Batts, B.D.; Wilson, M.A.; Gorbaty, M.L.; Maa, P.S.; Long, M.A.; He, S.J.X.; Attala, M.I. [Macquarie University, Macquarie, NSW (Australia). School of Chemistry

1997-10-01

A study of the reactivities of Australian coals and one American coal with methane or methane-hydrogen mixtures, in the range 350-400{degree}C and a range of pressures (6.0-8.3 MPa, cold) is reported. The effects of aluminophosphates (AIPO) or zeolite catalysts, with and without exchanged metals, on reactivity have also been examined. Yields of dichloromethane extractable material are increased by using a methane rather than a nitrogen atmosphere and different catalysts assist dissolution to various extends. It appears that surface exchanged catalysts are effective, but incorporating metals during AIPO lattice formation is detrimental. Aluminium phosphate catalysts are unstable to water produced during coal conversion, but are still able to increase extraction yields. For the American coal, under methane-hydrogen and a copper exchanged zeolite, 51.5% conversion was obtained, with a product selectivity close to that obtained under hydrogen alone, and with only 2% hydrogen consumption. The conversion under methane-hydrogen was also to that obtained under hydrogen alone, while a linear dependence of conversion on proportion of methane would predict a 43% conversion under methane-hydrogen. This illustrates a synergistic effect of the methane-hydrogen atmosphere for coal liquefaction using this catalyst systems. 31 refs., 5 figs., 7 tabs.

Methane-rich water induces cucumber adventitious rooting through heme oxygenase1/carbon monoxide and Ca(2+) pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Weiti; Qi, Fang; Zhang, Yihua; Cao, Hong; Zhang, Jing; Wang, Ren; Shen, Wenbiao

2015-03-01

Methane-rich water triggered adventitious rooting by regulating heme oxygenase1/carbon monoxide and calcium pathways in cucumber explants. Heme oxygenase1/carbon monoxide (HO1/CO) and calcium (Ca(2+)) were reported as the downstream signals in auxin-induced cucumber adventitious root (AR) formation. Here, we observed that application of methane-rich water (MRW; 80% saturation) obviously induced AR formation in IAA-depleted cucumber explants. To address the universality, we checked adventitious rooting in soybean and mung bean explants, and found that MRW (50 and 10% saturation, respectively) exhibited the similar inducing results. To further determine if the HO1/CO system participated in MRW-induced adventitious rooting, MRW, HO1 inducer hemin, its activity inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP), and its catalytic by-products CO, bilirubin, and Fe(2+) were used to detect their effects on cucumber adventitious rooting in IAA-depleted explants. Subsequent results showed that MRW-induced adventitious rooting was blocked by ZnPP and further reversed by 20% saturation CO aqueous solution. However, the other two by-products of HO1, bilirubin and Fe(2+), failed to induce AR formation. Above responses were consistent with the MRW-induced increases of HO1 transcript and corresponding protein level. Further molecular evidence indicted that expression of marker genes, including auxin signaling-related genes and cell cycle regulatory genes, were modulated by MRW alone but blocked by the cotreatment with ZnPP, the latter of which could be significantly rescued by the addition of CO. By using the Ca(2+)-channel blocker and Ca(2+) chelator, the involvement of Ca(2+) pathway in MRW-induced adventitious rooting was also suggested. Together, our results indicate that MRW might serve as a stimulator of adventitious rooting, which was partially mediated by HO1/CO and Ca(2+) pathways.

Anaerobic treatment of cassava stillage for hydrogen and methane production in continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) under high organic loading rate (OLR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Gang; Xie, Li; Zou, Zhonghai; Wang, Wen; Zhou, Qi [Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education (Tongji University), UNEP-Tongji, Tongji University, Siping Road No. 1239, Shanghai 200092 (China); Shim, Hojae [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau SAR 999078 (China)

2010-11-15

Anaerobic hydrogen and methane production from cassava stillage in continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) were investigated in this study. Results showed that the heat-pretreatment of inoculum did not enhance hydrogen yield compared to raw inoculum under mesophilic condition after continuous operation. However, the hydrogen yield increased from about 14 ml H{sub 2}/gVS under mesophilic condition to 69.6 ml H{sub 2}/gVS under thermophilic condition due to the decrease of propionate concentration and inhibition of homoacetogens. Therefore, temperature was demonstrated to be more important than pretreatment of inoculum to enhance the hydrogen production. Under high organic loading rate (OLR) (>10 gVS/(L.d)), the two-phase thermophilic CSTR for hydrogen and methane production was stable with hydrogen and methane yields of 56.6 mlH{sub 2}/gVS and 249 mlCH{sub 4}/gVS. The one-phase thermophilic CSTR for methane production failed due to the accumulation of both acetate and propionate, leading to the pH lower than 6. Instead of propionate alone, the accumulations of both acetate and propionate were found to be related to the breakdown of methane reactor. (author)

C1 Chemistry for the Production of Ultra-Clean Liquid Transportation Fuels and Hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerald P. Huffman

2005-03-31

Faculty and students from five universities--the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, University of Utah, West Virginia University, and Auburn University--are collaborating in a research program to develop C1 chemistry processes to produce ultra-clean liquid transportation fuels and hydrogen, the zero-emissions transportation fuel of the future. The feedstocks contain one carbon atom per molecular unit. They include synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by coal gasification or reforming of natural gas, methane, methanol, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. An important objective is to develop C1 technology for the production of liquid transportation fuel and hydrogen from domestically plentiful resources such as coal, coalbed methane, and natural gas. An Industrial Advisory Board with representatives from Chevron-Texaco, Eastman Chemical, Conoco-Phillips, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Army National Automotive Center (Tank & Automotive Command--TACOM), and Tier Associates provides guidance on the practicality of the research. The current report presents results obtained in this research program during the six months of the subject contract from October 1, 2002 through March 31, 2003. The results are presented in thirteen detailed reports on research projects headed by various faculty members at each of the five CFFS Universities. Additionally, an Executive Summary has been prepared that summarizes the principal results of all of these projects during the six-month reporting period.

Optimization of separate hydrogen and methane production from cassava wastewater using two-stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) system under thermophilic operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Intanoo, Patcharee; Rangsanvigit, Pramoch; Malakul, Pomthong; Chavadej, Sumaeth

2014-12-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the separate hydrogen and methane productions from cassava wastewater by using a two-stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) system under thermophilic operation. Recycle ratio of the effluent from methane bioreactor-to-feed flow rate was fixed at 1:1 and pH of hydrogen UASB unit was maintained at 5.5. At optimum COD loading rate of 90 kg/m3 d based on the feed COD load and hydrogen UASB volume, the produced gas from the hydrogen UASB unit mainly contained H2 and CO2 which provided the maximum hydrogen yield (54.22 ml H2/g COD applied) and specific hydrogen production rate (197.17 ml/g MLVSSd). At the same optimum COD loading rate, the produced gas from the methane UASB unit mainly contained CH4 and CO2 without H2 which were also consistent with the maximum methane yield (164.87 ml CH4/g COD applied) and specific methane production rate (356.31 ml CH4/g MLVSSd). The recycling operation minimized the use of NaOH for pH control in hydrogen UASB unit. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular hydrogen (H2) combustion emissions and their isotope (D/H) signatures from domestic heaters, diesel vehicle engines, waste incinerator plants, and biomass burning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vollmer, M.K.; Walter, S.; Mohn, J.; Steinbacher, M.; Bond, S.W.; Röckmann, T.; Reimann, S.

2012-01-01

Molecular hydrogen (H2), its stable isotope signature ( D), and the key combustion parameters carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) were measured from various combustion processes. H2 in the exhaust of gas and oil-fired heaters and of waste incinerator plants was generally

Influence of carbon monoxide additions on the sensitivity of the dry hydrogen-air mixtures to detonation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magzumov, A.E.; Kirillov, I.A.; Fridman, A.A.; Rusanov, V.D.

1995-01-01

Under severe accident conditions of water cooled nuclear reactors the hydrogen-air detonation represents one of the most hazardous events which can result in the reactor containment damage. An important factor related with the measure of gas mixture detonability is the detonation cell size which correlates with the critical tube diameter and detonation initiation energy. A numerical kinetic study is presented of the influence of carbon monoxide admixtures (from 0 vol.% to 40 vol.%) upon the sensitivity (detonation cell size) of the dry hydrogen-air gas mixtures to detonation in post-accident containment atmosphere. (author). 3 refs., 3 figs

Session 4: Combinatorial research of methane catalytic decomposition on supported nitride catalysts for CO-free hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jianghan, Shen; Hua, Wang; Zhongmin, Liu; Hongchao, Liu [Natural Gas Utilization and Applied Catalysis Lab., Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian P. R. (China)

2004-07-01

CO-free Hydrogen production is needed for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMs) because CO strongly poisons the anode-electrocatalysts. Methane directly catalytic decomposition is an attractive way to produce CO-free hydrogen for the large abundance of methane and its high H/C ratio. It is more effective to employ high-throughput screening (HTS) technology in heterogeneous catalysis. In this paper, a combinatorial multi-stream reaction system with online multi-stream mass spectrometer screening (MSMSS) detection technique was applied to study the decomposition of methane over supported MoN{sub x}O{sub y} catalysts (supports = Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, SiO{sub 2}, SBA-15, ZSM-5,13X, and NaY), which is a catalyst system seldom reported recently. (authors)

Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Hydrogen Production Process from Glycerol using Steam Reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jeongpil; Cho, Sunghyun; Kim, Tae-Ok; Shin, Dongil; Lee, Seunghwan; Moon, Dong Ju

2014-01-01

For improved sustainability of the biorefinery industry, biorefinery-byproduct glycerol is being investigated as an alternate source for hydrogen production. This research designs and optimizes a hydrogen-production process for small hydrogen stations using steam reforming of purified glycerol as the main reaction, replacing existing processes relying on steam methane reforming. Modeling, simulation and optimization using a commercial process simulator are performed for the proposed hydrogen production process from glycerol. The mixture of glycerol and steam are used for making syngas in the reforming process. Then hydrogen are produced from carbon monoxide and steam through the water-gas shift reaction. Finally, hydrogen is separated from carbon dioxide using PSA. This study shows higher yield than former U.S.. DOE and Linde studies. Economic evaluations are performed for optimal planning of constructing domestic hydrogen energy infrastructure based on the proposed glycerol-based hydrogen station

A comparison of hydrogen-bonded and van der Waals isomers of phenolṡṡnitrogen and phenolṡṡcarbon monoxide: An ab initio study

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Darren M.; Müller-Dethlefs, Klaus; Peel, J. Barrie

1999-08-01

The hydrogen-bonded and van der Waals isomers of phenolṡṡnitrogen and phenolṡṡcarbon monoxide in their neutral electronic (S0) and cation ground state (D0) were studied using ab initio HF/6-31G*, MP2/6-31G*, and B3LYP/6-31G* methods. The hydrogen-bonded isomers have the ligand bound via the hydroxyl group of the phenol ring, while the van der Waals isomers studied have the ligand located above the aromatic ring. For both complexes, the hydrogen-bonded isomer was found to be the most stable form for both the S0 and the D0 states. For phenolṡṡcarbon monoxide, twice as many isomers as compared to phenolṡṡnitrogen were found. The hydrogen-bonded isomer with the carbon end bonded to the hydroxyl group was the most stable structure for both the S0 and the D0 states.

New optical method for heat flux measurements in stagnation point laminar methane/air flames and hydrogen/methane/air flames using thermographic phosphors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elmnefi, Mohamed Salem

2010-11-24

In the present study, a new optical method was implemented to study the heat transfer from flat stagnation point flames which can be regarded as one-dimensional in the central part. Premixed methane-air flames and hydrogen-methane-air flames were investigated. The effects of burner-to-plate distance and the fresh gas mixture velocity on heat transfer were examined. Experiments were performed using light induced phosphorescence from thermographic phosphors to study the wall temperatures and heat fluxes of nearly one-dimensional flat premixed flames impinging upward normally on a horizontal water cooled circular flat plate. The investigated flames were stoichiometric, lean and rich laminar methane/air flames with different equivalence ratios of {phi} =1, {phi} = 0.75 and {phi} = 1.25 and stoichiometric laminar hydrogen/methane/air flames. Mixtures of air with 10, 25, 50 and 75 % hydrogen in methane (CH{sub 4}) as well as a pure hydrogen flames at ambient pressure were investigated. The central part of this plate was an alumina ceramic plate coated from both sides with chromium doped alumina (ruby) and excited with a Nd:YAG laser or a green light emitting diode (LED) array to measure the wall temperature from both sides and thus the heat flux rate from the flame. The outlet velocity of the gases was varied from 0.1 m/s to 1.2 m/s. The burner to plate distance ranged from 0.5 to 2 times the burner exit diameter (d = 30 mm).The accuracy of the method was evaluated. The measured heat flux indicate the change of the flame stabilization mechanism from a burner stabilized to a stagnation plate stabilized flame. The results were compared to modeling results of a one dimensional stagnation point flow, with a detailed reaction mechanism. In order to prove the model, also measured gas phase temperatures by OH LIF for a stoichiometric stagnation point flame were discussed. It turns out that the flame stabilization mechanism and with it the heat fluxes change from low to high

A Review on Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide in Hydrogen Rich Gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Mishra

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In this review, recent works on the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in hydrogen rich gases for fuel cell applications are summarized. H2 is used as a fuel for polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC. It is produced by reforming of natural gas or liquid fuels followed by water gas shift reaction. The produced gas consists of H2, CO, and CO2. In which CO content is around 1%, which is highly poisonous for the Pt anode of the PEMFC so that further removal of CO is needed. Catalytic preferential oxidation of CO (CO-PROX is one of the most suitable methods of purification of H2 because of high CO conversion rate at low temperature range, which is preferable for PEMFC operating conditions. Catalysts used for COPROX are mainly noble metal based; gold based and base metal oxide catalysts among them Copper-Ceria based catalysts are the most appropriate due to its low cost, easy availability and result obtained by these catalysts are comparable with the conventional noble metal catalysts. Copyright © 2011 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 22nd October 2010, Revised: 12nd January 2011, Accepted: 19th January 2011[How to Cite: A. Mishra, R. Prasad. (2011. A Review on Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide in Hydrogen Rich Gases. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 6 (1: 1-14. doi:10.9767/bcrec.6.1.191.1-14][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.6.1.191.1-14 || or local:  http://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/bcrec/article/view/191] | View in 

Deactivation of nickel catalysts in the methanization of hydrogen/carbon monoxide mixtures under pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeeb, H P

1979-01-01

The deactivation course of nickel methanization catalysts was investigated in the temperature range of 310/sup 0/C to 370/sup 0/C and in the pressure region of 20 to 80 bar. Raising the CO partial pressure accelerated the deactivation whereas raising the H/sub 2/ partial pressure slowed it down. An influence of the temperature could not be clearly recognized. The deactivation got slower with greater dwell time and larger degree of conversion. Two hypotheses to explain the deactivation are given.

Factors determining the activity of catalysts of various chemical types in the oxidation of hydrogen. I. Oxidation and isotope exchange of hydrogen on cobalt monoxide-oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polgikh, L.Y.; Golodets, G.I.; Il'chenko, N.I.

1985-01-01

On the basis of data on the kinetics of the reaction 2H 2 + O 2 = 2H 2 O isotope exchange H 2 + D 2 = 2HD under the conditions of oxidative catalysis, and the kinetic isotope effect, a mechanism is proposed for the oxidation of hydrogen on cobalt monoxide-oxide. At low temperatures the reaction proceeds according to a mechanism of alternating reduction-reoxidation of the surface with the participation of hydrogen adsorbed in molecular form; at increased temperature and low P 02 /P /SUB H2/ ratios, a significant contribution to the observed rate is made by a mechanism including dissociative chemisorption of hydrogen

Effect of Hydrogen Addition on Methane HCCI Engine Ignition Timing and Emissions Using a Multi-zone Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zi-han; Wang, Chun-mei; Tang, Hua-xin; Zuo, Cheng-ji; Xu, Hong-ming

2009-06-01

Ignition timing control is of great importance in homogeneous charge compression ignition engines. The effect of hydrogen addition on methane combustion was investigated using a CHEMKIN multi-zone model. Results show that hydrogen addition advances ignition timing and enhances peak pressure and temperature. A brief analysis of chemical kinetics of methane blending hydrogen is also performed in order to investigate the scope of its application, and the analysis suggests that OH radical plays an important role in the oxidation. Hydrogen addition increases NOx while decreasing HC and CO emissions. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) also advances ignition timing; however, its effects on emissions are generally the opposite. By adjusting the hydrogen addition and EGR rate, the ignition timing can be regulated with a low emission level. Investigation into zones suggests that NOx is mostly formed in core zones while HC and CO mostly originate in the crevice and the quench layer.

An unusual case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Auger, P L; Levesque, B; Martel, R; Prud'homme, H; Bellemare, D; Barbeau, C; Lachance, P; Rhainds, M

1999-01-01

Carbon monoxide, a gas originating from incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, is an important cause of human deaths. In this paper, we describe an unusual carbon monoxide poisoning in a dwelling without obvious sources of combustion gases, for which two adults had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber. Carbon monoxide readings were taken in the house and in the neighboring homes. Methane gas and nitrogen oxide levels were also monitored in the house air. Soil samples were collected around the house and tested for hydrocarbon residues. The investigation revealed the presence of a pocket of carbon monoxide under the foundation of the house. The first readings revealed carbon monoxide levels of 500 ppm in the basement. The contamination lasted for a week. The investigation indicated that the probable source of contamination was the use of explosives at a nearby rain sewer construction site. The use of explosives in a residential area can constitute a major source of carbon monoxide for the neighboring populations. This must be investigated, and public health authorities, primary-care physicians, governmental authorities, and users and manufacturers of explosives must be made aware of this problem. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:10379009

An unusual case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Auger, P L; Levesque, B; Martel, R; Prud'homme, H; Bellemare, D; Barbeau, C; Lachance, P; Rhainds, M

1999-07-01

Carbon monoxide, a gas originating from incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, is an important cause of human deaths. In this paper, we describe an unusual carbon monoxide poisoning in a dwelling without obvious sources of combustion gases, for which two adults had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber. Carbon monoxide readings were taken in the house and in the neighboring homes. Methane gas and nitrogen oxide levels were also monitored in the house air. Soil samples were collected around the house and tested for hydrocarbon residues. The investigation revealed the presence of a pocket of carbon monoxide under the foundation of the house. The first readings revealed carbon monoxide levels of 500 ppm in the basement. The contamination lasted for a week. The investigation indicated that the probable source of contamination was the use of explosives at a nearby rain sewer construction site. The use of explosives in a residential area can constitute a major source of carbon monoxide for the neighboring populations. This must be investigated, and public health authorities, primary-care physicians, governmental authorities, and users and manufacturers of explosives must be made aware of this problem.

Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides from industrial gases by hydrogen or methane; Reduction catalytique selective des oxydes d'azote (NO{sub x}) provenant d'effluents gazeux industriels par l'hydrogene ou le methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engelmann Pirez, M

2004-12-15

This work deals with the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), contained in the effluents of industrial plants, by hydrogen or methane. The aim is to replace ammonia, used as reducing agent, in the conventional process. The use of others reducing agents such as hydrogen or methane is interesting for different reasons: practical, economical and ecological. The catalyst has to convert selectively NO into N{sub 2}, in presence of an excess of oxygen, steam and sulfur dioxide. The developed catalyst is constituted by a support such as perovskites, particularly LaCoO{sub 3}, on which are dispersed noble metals (palladium, platinum). The interaction between the noble metal and the support, generated during the activation of the catalyst, allows to minimize the water and sulfur dioxide inhibitor phenomena on the catalytic performances, particularly in the reduction of NO by hydrogen. (O.M.)

Detection of abundant ethane and methane, along with carbon monoxide and water, in comet C/1996 B2 Hyakutake: evidence for interstellar origin

Science.gov (United States)

Mumma, M. J.; DiSanti, M. A.; Dello Russo, N.; Fomenkova, M.; Magee-Sauer, K.; Kaminski, C. D.; Xie, D. X.

1996-01-01

The saturated hydrocarbons ethane (C2H6) and methane (CH4) along with carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O) were detected in comet C/1996 B2 Hyakutake with the use of high-resolution infrared spectroscopy at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The inferred production rates of molecular gases from the icy, cometary nucleus (in molecules per second) are 6.4 X 10(26) for C2H6, 1.2 X 10(27) for CH4, 9.8 X 10(27) for CO, and 1.7 X 10(29) for H2O. An abundance of C2H6 comparable to that of CH4 implies that ices in C/1996 B2 Hyakutake did not originate in a thermochemically equilibrated region of the solar nebula. The abundances are consistent with a kinetically controlled production process, but production of C2H6 by gas-phase ion molecule reactions in the natal cloud core is energetically forbidden. The high C2H6/CH4 ratio is consistent with production of C2H6 in icy grain mantles in the natal cloud, either by photolysis of CH4-rich ice or by hydrogen-addition reactions to acetylene condensed from the gas phase.

Improvements in or relating to process for the production of fuel gas from a carbonaceous solid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1952-12-03

A process was designed for the generation of fuel gas from a solid carbonaceous fuel containing volatilizable constituents, which comprises admixing the solid carbonaceous fuel in particle form with sufficient water to form a fluid suspension, passing the suspension through a heating zone at an elevated temperature such that substantially all of the water is vaporized, thereby forming a dispersion of coal in steam and causing the dispersion to attain a velocity of at least 60 ft. per second to shatter the particles of coal by collision, passing the resulting dispersion into a fluidized bed of solid carbonaceous material in a methanization zone into contact with carbon monoxide and hydrogen at a temperature within the range of from 900/sup 0/ to 1,800/sup 0/F whereby carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted to methane and volatilizable constituents of the solid carbonaceous material are distilled therefrom, withdrawing carbonaceous material from the methanization zone and passing it into contact with oxygen and steam in dilute phase in a gasification zone maintained at a temperature within the range of 2,000/sup 0/ to about 3,000/sup 0/F, passing the resulting gases comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen from the gasification zone into the methanization zone as the source of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and discharging the gaseous products of the methanization zone as the raw-product fuel gas.

Catalysis mechanism of Pd-promoted γ-alumina in the thermal decomposition of methane to hydrogen: A density functional theory study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salam, M. Abdus; Abdullah, Bawadi, E-mail: bawadi_abdullah@utp.edu.my

2017-02-15

Thermo-catalytic methane decomposition to elemental hydrogen mechanism in transitional metals (Pd, Ni & Mo) promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalyst have been studied using the density functional theory (DFT). Decomposition reactions are spontaneous and favourable above 775 K for all promoter. Pd-promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalyst demonstrates a breakthrough decomposition activity in hydrogen production as compared to Ni− and Mo-promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalysts. The activation energy (E{sub a}) range of the catalysis for Pd promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalysts is 0.003–0.34 eV. Whereas, Ni and Mo promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalysts display activation energy E{sub a} in the range of 0.63–1.15 eV and 0.04–5.98 eV, respectively. Pd-promoted catalyst also shows a higher adsorption energy (−0.68 eV) and reactivity than that of Ni and Mo promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalysts. The rates of successive decomposition of methane are found to be 16.15 × 10{sup 12}, 15.95 × 10{sup 12} and 16.09 × 10{sup 12} s{sup −1} for the promoter of Pd, Ni and Mo, respectively. Pd promoted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (001) catalyst reduces the methane decomposition temperature (775 K) and deactivation rate significantly. The catalytic conditions and catalyst is promising in producing hydrogen to support hydrogen economy. - Highlights: • Transition metals (Pd, Ni & Mo) promoted γ-alumina catalysts are designed successfully. • Pd-promoted catalyst showed breakthrough activity in methane decomposition to hydrogen. • DFT study explored the catalysis mechanism of methane decomposition at atomic level. • Pd-promoted catalyst reduced temperature and activation barrier of methane decomposition reaction significantly.

Catalysis mechanism of Pd-promoted γ-alumina in the thermal decomposition of methane to hydrogen: A density functional theory study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salam, M. Abdus; Abdullah, Bawadi

2017-01-01

Thermo-catalytic methane decomposition to elemental hydrogen mechanism in transitional metals (Pd, Ni & Mo) promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalyst have been studied using the density functional theory (DFT). Decomposition reactions are spontaneous and favourable above 775 K for all promoter. Pd-promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalyst demonstrates a breakthrough decomposition activity in hydrogen production as compared to Ni− and Mo-promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalysts. The activation energy (E_a) range of the catalysis for Pd promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalysts is 0.003–0.34 eV. Whereas, Ni and Mo promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalysts display activation energy E_a in the range of 0.63–1.15 eV and 0.04–5.98 eV, respectively. Pd-promoted catalyst also shows a higher adsorption energy (−0.68 eV) and reactivity than that of Ni and Mo promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalysts. The rates of successive decomposition of methane are found to be 16.15 × 10"1"2, 15.95 × 10"1"2 and 16.09 × 10"1"2 s"−"1 for the promoter of Pd, Ni and Mo, respectively. Pd promoted Al_2O_3 (001) catalyst reduces the methane decomposition temperature (775 K) and deactivation rate significantly. The catalytic conditions and catalyst is promising in producing hydrogen to support hydrogen economy. - Highlights: • Transition metals (Pd, Ni & Mo) promoted γ-alumina catalysts are designed successfully. • Pd-promoted catalyst showed breakthrough activity in methane decomposition to hydrogen. • DFT study explored the catalysis mechanism of methane decomposition at atomic level. • Pd-promoted catalyst reduced temperature and activation barrier of methane decomposition reaction significantly.

Hydrogen production from high-moisture content biomass in supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antal, M.J. Jr.; Adschiri, T.; Ekbom, T. [Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)] [and others

1996-10-01

Most hydrogen is produced by steam reforming methane at elevated pressures. The goal of this research is to develop commercial processes for the catalytic steam reforming of biomass and other organic wastes at high pressures. This approach avoids the high cost of gas compression and takes advantage of the unique properties of water at high pressures. Prior to this year the authors reported the ability of carbon to catalyze the decomposition of biomass and related model compounds in supercritical water. The product gas consists of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and traces of higher hydrocarbons. During the past year the authors have: (a) developed a method to extend the catalyst life, (b) begun studies of the role of the shift reaction, (c) completed studies of carbon dioxide absorption from the product effluent by high pressure water, (d) measured the rate of carbon catalyst gasification in supercritical water, (e) discovered the pumpability of oil-biomass slurries, and (f) completed the design and begun fabrication of a flow reactor that will steam reform whole biomass feedstocks (i.e. sewage sludge) and produce a hydrogen rich synthesis gas at very high pressure (>22 MPa).

Influence of operating pressure on the biological hydrogen methanation in trickle-bed reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ullrich, Timo; Lindner, Jonas; Bär, Katharina; Mörs, Friedemann; Graf, Frank; Lemmer, Andreas

2018-01-01

In order to investigate the influence of pressures up to 9bar absolute on the productivity of trickle-bed reactors for biological methanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, experiments were carried out in a continuously operated experimental plant with three identical reactors. The pressure increase promises a longer residence time and improved mass transfer of H 2 due to higher gas partial pressures. The study covers effects of different pressures on important parameters like gas hourly space velocity, methane formation rate, conversion rates and product gas quality. The methane content of 64.13±3.81vol-% at 1.5bar could be increased up to 86.51±0.49vol-% by raising the pressure to 9bar. Methane formation rates of up to 4.28±0.26m 3 m -3 d -1 were achieved. Thus, pressure increase could significantly improve reactor performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated system for hydrogen and methane production during landfill leachate treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hafez, Hisham; Nakhla, George; El Naggar, Hesham [Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada)

2010-05-15

The patent-pending integrated waste-to-energy system comprises both a novel biohydrogen reactor with a gravity settler (Biohydrogenator), followed by a second stage conventional anaerobic digester for the production of methane gas. This chemical-free process has been tested with a synthetic wastewater/leachate solution, and was operated at 37 C for 45 d. The biohydrogenator (system (A), stage 1) steadily produced hydrogen with no methane during the experimental period. The maximum hydrogen yield was 400 mL H{sub 2}/g glucose with an average of 345 mL H{sub 2}/g glucose, as compared to 141 and 118 mL H{sub 2}/g glucose for two consecutive runs done in parallel using a conventional continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR, System (B)). Decoupling of the solids retention time (SRT) from the hydraulic retention time (HRT) using the gravity settler showed a marked improvement in performance, with the maximum and average hydrogen production rates in system (A) of 22 and 19 L H{sub 2}/d, as compared with 2-7 L H{sub 2}/d in the CSTR resulting in a maximum yield of 2.8 mol H{sub 2}/mol glucose much higher than the 1.1-1.3 mol H{sub 2}/mol glucose observed in the CSTR. Furthermore, while the CSTR collapsed in 10-15 d due to biomass washout, the biohydrogenator continued stable operation for the 45 d reported here and beyond. The methane yield for the second stage in system (A) approached a maximum value of 426 mL CH{sub 4}/gCOD removed, while an overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 94% was achieved in system (A). (author)

Poisoning by carbon monoxide in the hydrogen exchange reaction between deuterium gas and water preadsorbed on a platinum--alumina catalyst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iida, I.; Tamaru, K.

1979-01-01

Poisoning by carbon monoxide in the exchange reaction between deuterium and the water preadsorbed on a platinum--alumina catalyst was studied, by measuring not only the rate of reaction but also its kinetic behavior and the adsorption of reactants on the catalyst surface. The shape of the poisoning curve is closely associated with the kinetic behavior and exhibited an abrupt change on freezing the adsorbed water below 273 0 K. When the rate is proportional to deuterium pressure and independent of the amount of water adsorbed, the exchange rate dropped sharply by carbon monoxide adsorbed of a few percent coverage without any marked changes in the amount and the rate of hydrogen adsorption on the platinum surface. However, at temperatures lower than 273 0 K and at higher deuterium pressures, the rate depends not on the deuterium pressure but on the amount of water adsorbed. The migration of hydrogen in or through the adsorbed water is seemingly sufficiently suppressed by freezing to control the overall reaction rate. In this case, a small amount of adsorption of carbon monoxide did not show any toxicity, but then a steep poisoning started accompanying a change in the kinetic behavior. It was accordingly demonstrated that the mechanism of the reaction may be better understood by studying poisoning and measuring adsorption, overall rate, and kinetic behavior

De-oxygenation of CO2 by using Hydrogen, Carbon and Methane over Alumina-Supported Catalysts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.Y. Raskar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The de-oxygenation of CO2 was explored by using hydrogen, methane, carbon etc., over alumina supported catalysts. The alumina-supported ruthenium, rhodium, platinum, molybdenum, vanadium and magnesium catalysts were first reduced in hydrogen atmosphere and then used for the de-oxygenation of CO2. Furthermore, experimental variables for the de-oxygenation of CO2 were temperature (range 50 to 650 oC, H2/CO2 mole ratios (1.0 to 5, and catalyst loading (0.5 to 10 wt %. During the de-oxygenation of CO2 with H2 or CH4 or carbon, conversion of CO2, selectivity to CO and CH4 were estimated. Moreover, 25.4 % conversion of CO2 by hydrogen was observed over 1 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst at 650 oC with 33.8 % selectivity to CH4. However, 8.1 to 13.9 % conversion of CO2 was observed over 1 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst at 550 oC in the presence of both H2 and CH4. Moreover, 42.8 to 79.4 % CH4 was converted with 9 to 23.1 % selectivity to CO. It was observed that the de-oxygenation of CO2 by hydrogen, carbon and methane produced carbon, CO and CH4. © 2012 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 6th February 2012; Revised: 23rd April 2012; Accepted: 24th April 2012[How to Cite: R. Y. Raskar, K. B. Kale, A. G. Gaikwad. (2011. De-oxygenation of CO2 by using Hydrogen, Carbon and Methane over Alumina-Supported Catalysts. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7 (1: 59-69.  doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.1.1631.59-69][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.1.1631.59-69 ] | View in 

Thermophilic anaerobic fermentation of olive pulp for hydrogen and methane production: modelling of the anaerobic digestion process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gavala, Hariklia N.; Skiadas, Ioannis V.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

2006-01-01

the olive pulp; c) subsequent anaerobic treatment of the hydrogen-effluent with the simultaneous production of methane; and d) development of a mathematical model able to describe the anaerobic digestion of the olive pulp and the effluent of hydrogen producing process. Both continuous and batch experiments...

Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides from industrial gases by hydrogen or methane; Reduction catalytique selective des oxydes d'azote (NO{sub x}) provenant d'effluents gazeux industriels par l'hydrogene ou le methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engelmann Pirez, M

2004-12-15

This work deals with the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), contained in the effluents of industrial plants, by hydrogen or methane. The aim is to replace ammonia, used as reducing agent, in the conventional process. The use of others reducing agents such as hydrogen or methane is interesting for different reasons: practical, economical and ecological. The catalyst has to convert selectively NO into N{sub 2}, in presence of an excess of oxygen, steam and sulfur dioxide. The developed catalyst is constituted by a support such as perovskites, particularly LaCoO{sub 3}, on which are dispersed noble metals (palladium, platinum). The interaction between the noble metal and the support, generated during the activation of the catalyst, allows to minimize the water and sulfur dioxide inhibitor phenomena on the catalytic performances, particularly in the reduction of NO by hydrogen. (O.M.)

Hydrogen production from high moisture content biomass in supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antal, M.J. Jr.; Xu, X. [Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States). Hawaii Natural Energy Inst.

1998-08-01

By mixing wood sawdust with a corn starch gel, a viscous paste can be produced that is easily delivered to a supercritical flow reactor by means of a cement pump. Mixtures of about 10 wt% wood sawdust with 3.65 wt% starch are employed in this work, which the authors estimate to cost about $0.043 per lb. Significant reductions in feed cost can be achieved by increasing the wood sawdust loading, but such an increase may require a more complex pump. When this feed is rapidly heated in a tubular flow reactor at pressures above the critical pressure of water (22 MPa), the sawdust paste vaporizes without the formation of char. A packed bed of carbon catalyst in the reactor operating at about 650 C causes the tarry vapors to react with water, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and some methane with a trace of carbon monoxide. The temperature and history of the reactor`s wall influence the hydrogen-methane product equilibrium by catalyzing the methane steam reforming reaction. The water effluent from the reactor is clean. Other biomass feedstocks, such as the waste product of biodiesel production, behave similarly. Unfortunately, sewage sludge does not evidence favorable gasification characteristics and is not a promising feedstock for supercritical water gasification.

Conversion of Methane to C2 Hydrocarbons and Hydrogen Using a Gliding Arc Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Shuanghui; Wang Baowei; Lv Yijun; Yan Wenjuan

2013-01-01

Methane conversion has been studied using gliding arc plasma in the presence of argon. The process was conducted at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. The focus of this research was to develop a process of converting methane to C 2 hydrocarbons and hydrogen. The main parameters, including the CH 4 /Ar mole ratio, the CH 4 flow rate, the input voltage, and the minimum electrode gap, were varied to investigate their effects on methane conversion rate, product distribution, energy consumption, carbon deposit, and reaction stability. The specific energy requirement (SER) was used to express the energy utilization efficiency of the process and provided a practical guidance for optimizing reaction conditions for improving energy efficiency. It was found that the carbon deposition was not conducive to methane conversion, and the gliding arc plasma discharge reached a stable state twelve minutes later. Optimum conditions for methane conversion were suggested. The maximum methane conversion rate of 43.39% was obtained under the optimum conditions. Also, C 2 hydrocarbons selectivity, C 2 hydrocarbons yield, H 2 selectivity, H 2 yield and SER were 87.20%, 37.83%, 81.28%, 35.27%, and 2.09 MJ/mol, respectively.

Hydrogen production from biomass by thermochemical recuperative energy conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fushimi, C.; Araki, K.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Tsutsumi, A. [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Chemical System Engineering

2002-07-01

The authors conducted, using a thermogravimetric reactor, a kinetic study of production of thermochemical recuperative hydrogen from biomass. The four different biomass materials used were: cellulose, lignin, metroxylon stem, and coconut husk. Under both rapid heating and slow heating conditions, the weight changes of the biomass samples during the steam gasification or pyrolysis were measured at 973 Kelvin. Simultaneously, measurements of the evolution rates of low-molecular-weight gas products such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide were taken with the help of a mass spectrometer and a micro gas chromatograph (GC). The steam gasification of char significantly increased the amount of hydrogen and carbon dioxide production. The results also indicated that at higher heating rate, the cold gas efficiency of steam gasification was increased. This can be explained by the suppression of the tar production at lower temperature. 25 refs., 2 tabs., 10 figs.

Composition variability of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and effects on hydrogen and methane production potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Alibardi, Luca; Cossu, Raffaello

2015-02-01

The composition of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) strongly depends on the place and time of collection for a specific municipality or area. Moreover synthetic food waste or organic waste from cafeterias and restaurants may not be representative of the overall OFMSW received at treatment facilities for source-separated waste. This work is aimed at evaluating the composition variability of OFMSW, the potential productions of hydrogen and methane from specific organic waste fractions typically present in MSW and the effects of waste composition on overall hydrogen and methane yields. The organic waste fractions considered in the study were: bread-pasta, vegetables, fruits, meat-fish-cheese and undersieve 20mm. Composition analyses were conducted on samples of OFMSW that were source segregated at household level. Batch tests for hydrogen and methane productions were carried out under mesophilic conditions on selected fractions and OFMSW samples. Results indicated that the highest production of hydrogen was achieved by the bread-pasta fraction while the lowest productions were measured for the meat-fish-cheese fraction. The results indicated that the content of these two fractions in organic waste had a direct influence on the hydrogen production potentials of OFMSW. The higher the content of bread-pasta fraction, the higher the hydrogen yields were while the contrary was observed for the meat-fish-cheese fraction. The definition of waste composition therefore represents fundamental information to be reported in scientific literature to allow data comparison. The variability of OFMSW and its effects on hydrogen potentials might also represents a problematic issue in the management of pilot or full-scale plants for the production of hydrogen by dark fermentation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-phase anaerobic digestion of mixed waste streams to separate generation of bio-hydrogen and bio-methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siddiqui, Z.; Horam, N.J. [Leeds Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Civil Engineering

2010-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the net energy potential of single stage mesophilic reactor and two phase mesophilic reactor (hydrogeniser followed by methaniser) using the mix of process industrial food waste (IFW) and sewage sludge (SS). Two-phase reactor efficiency was analysed based on individual optimum influent/environmental (C:N and pH) and reactor/engineering (HRT and OLR) conditions achieved using the batch and continuous reactor study for the hydrogen and methane. Optimum C:N 20 and pH 5.5{+-}0.5 was observed using the Bio-H{sub 2} potential (BHP) and C:N 15 and pH 6.5{+-}0.3 for the biochemical methane potential (BMP) test. The maximum hydrogen content of 47% (v/v) was achieved using OLR 6 g VS/L/d and HRT of 5 days. Increase in hydrogen yield was noticed with consistent decrease in OLR. The volatile solids (VS) removal and hydrogen yield was observed in range 41.3 to 47% and 112.3 to 146.7 mL/ gVS{sub removed}. The specific hydrogen production rate improved at low OLR, 0.2 to 0.4 L/(L.d) using OLR 7.1 and 6 g VS/L/d respectively was well corroborated comparable to previous reported results at OLR 6 gVS/L/d using the enriched carbohydrate waste stream in particular to food wastes. A significant increase in VFA concentrations were noticed shifting OLR higher from 6 g VS/L/d thereby unbalancing the reactor pH and the biogas yield respectively. In similar, maximum methane content of 70% (v/v) was achieved using OLR of 3.3 gVS/L/d and HRT of 10 days. Slight decrease in methane content was noticed thereby increasing HRT to 12 and 15 days respectively. The volatile solids (VS) removal and specific methane production rate was observed in range 57.6 to 68.7 and 0.22 to 1.19 L/(L.d). The specific methane production potential improved thereby reducing the HRT and optimum yield was recorded as 476.6 mL/gVS{sub removed} using OLR 3.3 gVS/L/d. The energy potential of optimum condition in single stage hydorgeniser is 2.27 MW/tonne VS{sub fed}. Using the

Biocatalytic methanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in an anaerobic three-phase system.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhardt, M; Koschack, T; Busch, G

2015-02-01

A new type of anaerobic trickle-bed reactor was used for biocatalytic methanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide under mesophilic temperatures and ambient pressure in a continuous process. The conversion of gaseous substrates through immobilized hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaea in a biofilm is a unique feature of this type of reactor. Due to the formation of a three-phase system on the carrier surface and operation as a plug flow reactor without gas recirculation, a complete reaction could be observed. With a methane concentration higher than c(CH4) = 98%, the product gas exhibits a very high quality. A specific methane production of P(CH4) = 1.49 Nm(3)/(m(3)(SV) d) was achieved at a hydraulic loading rate of LR(H2) = 6.0 Nm(3)/(m(3)(SV) d). The relation between trickle flow through the reactor and productivity could be shown. An application for methane enrichment in combination with biogas facilities as a source of carbon dioxide has also been positively proven. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen production by dry reforming of methane with carbon dioxide in one-dimensional nickel-based catalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez U, A. C.

2016-01-01

The main objective of this thesis is development of nickel catalysts supported over 1D matrix of cerium oxide, to be used in dry reforming methane reaction with carbon dioxide for hydrogen production. The catalysts were characterized by: Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (Sem), Surface Area (Bet method) an X Ray Diffraction (XRD). The TPR technique allowed to define reduction temperature of the active phase in the catalyst, Sem technique showed that the CeO_2 matrix had a nano rod morphology. XRD allowed to identify the crystalline phases of the catalysts. Finally, the catalysts were tested in the dry reforming methane reaction, high catalytic activity and hydrogen production were performed at 700 degrees Celsius and the catalyst with 30 wt.% of nickel. (Author)

Effect of Different Operating Temperatures on the Biological Hydrogen Methanation in Trickle Bed Reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Lemmer

2018-05-01

Full Text Available To improve the reactor efficiency, this study investigated the influence of temperature on the biological hydrogen methanation (BHM in trickle-bed reactors (TBR. Rising temperatures increase the metabolic activity of methanogenic microorganisms, thus leading to higher reactor specific methane formation rates (MFR. In order to quantify the potential for improved performance, experiments with four different operating temperatures ranging from 40 to 55 °C were carried out. Methane content increased from 88.29 ± 2.12 vol % at 40 °C to 94.99 ± 0.81 vol % at 55 °C with a stable biological process. Furthermore, a reactor specific methane formation rate (MFR of up to 8.85 ± 0.45 m3 m−3 d−1 was achieved. It could be shown that the microorganisms were able to adapt to higher temperatures within hours. The tests showed that TBR performance with regard to BHM can be significantly increased by increasing the operating temperature.

Optimization geometries of a vortex gliding-arc reactor for partial oxidation of methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guofeng, Xu; Xinwei, Ding

2012-01-01

The effects of the geometry of gliding-arc reactor – such as distance between the electrodes, outlet diameter, and inlet position – on the reactor characteristics (methane conversion, hydrogen yield, and energy efficiency) have not been fully investigated. In this paper, AC gliding-arc reactors including the vortex flow configuration are designed to produce hydrogen from the methane by partial oxidation. The influence of vortex flow configuration on the reactor characteristics is also studied by varying the inlet position. When the inlet of the gliding-arc reactor is positioned close to the outlet, reverse vortex flow reactor (RVFR), the maximum energy efficiency reaches 50% and the yields of hydrogen and carbon monoxide are 40% and 65%, respectively. As the distance between electrodes increases from 5 mm to 15 mm, both hydrogen yield and energy efficiency increase approximately 10% for the RVFR. The energy efficiency and hydrogen yield are highest when the ratio of the outlet diameter to the inner diameter is 0.5 for the RVFR. Experimental results indicate that the flow field in the plasma reactor has an important influence on the reactor performance. Furthermore, hydrogen production increases as the number of feed gas flows in contact with the plasma zone increases. -- Highlights: ► Gliding-arc reactors were designed to produce hydrogen for studying the characteristics of the vortex flow reactor. ► Hydrogen yield of reverse vortex flow reactor was 10% higher than that of forward vortex flow reactor. ► Maximum energy efficiency was 50% for reverse vortex flow reactor. ► If discharge power was supplied to the reactors, the reactor performance increased with increasing distance between electrodes. ► Optimum ratio of the outlet and inner diameter was 1/2.

Analyses of one-step liquid hydrogen production from methane and landfill gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Cunping; T-Raissi, Ali [University of Central Florida, Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Road, Cocoa, FL 32922-5703 (United States)

2007-11-15

Conventional liquid hydrogen (LH{sub 2}) production consists of two basic steps: (1) gaseous hydrogen (GH{sub 2}) production via steam methane reformation followed by purification by means of pressure swing adsorption (PSA), and (2) GH{sub 2} liquefaction. LH{sub 2} produced by the conventional processes is not carbon neutral because of the carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emission from PSA operation. A novel concept is herein presented and flowsheeted for LH{sub 2} production with zero carbon emission using methane (CH{sub 4}) or landfill gas as feedstock. A cryogenic process is used for both H{sub 2} separation/purification and liquefaction. This one-step process can substantially increase the efficiency and reduce costs because no PSA step is required. Furthermore, the integrated process results in no CO{sub 2} emissions and minimal H{sub 2} losses. Of the five flowsheets presented, one that combines low and high temperature CO/CH{sub 4} reforming reactions in a single reactor shows the highest overall efficiency with the first and second law efficiencies of 85% and 56%, respectively. The latter figure assumes 10% overall energy loss and 30% efficiency for the cryogenic process. (author)

Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. Progress report, December 15, 1991--December 14, 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wayland, B.B.

1992-12-01

This project is focused on developing strategies to accomplish the reduction and hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to produce organic oxygenates at mild conditions. Our approaches to this issue are based on the recognition that rhodium macrocycles have unusually favorable thermodynamic values for producing a series of intermediate implicated in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO. Observations of metalloformyl complexes produced by reactions of H{sub 2} and CO, and reductive coupling of CO to form metallo {alpha}-diketone species have suggested a multiplicity of routes to organic oxygenates that utilize these species as intermediates. Thermodynamic and kinetic-mechanistic studies are used in constructing energy profiles for a variety of potential pathways, and these schemes are used in guiding the design of new metallospecies to improve the thermodynamic and kinetic factors for individual steps in the overall process. Variation of the electronic and steric effects associated with the ligand arrays along with the influences of the reaction medium provide the chemical tools for tuning these factors. Emerging knowledge of the factors that contribute to M-H, M-C and M-O bond enthalpies is directing the search for ligand arrays that will expand the range of metal species that have favorable thermodynamic parameters to produce the primary intermediates for CO hydrogenation. Studies of rhodium complexes are being extended to non-macrocyclic ligand complexes that emulate the favorable thermodynamic features associated with rhodium macrocycles, but that also manifest improved reaction kinetics. Multifunctional catalyst systems designed to couple the ability of rhodium complexes to produce formyl and diketone intermediates with a second catalyst that hydrogenates these imtermediates are promising approaches to accomplish CO hydrogenation at mild conditions.

Solar hydrogen production: renewable hydrogen production by dry fuel reforming

Science.gov (United States)

Bakos, Jamie; Miyamoto, Henry K.

2006-09-01

SHEC LABS - Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation constructed a pilot-plant to demonstrate a Dry Fuel Reforming (DFR) system that is heated primarily by sunlight focusing-mirrors. The pilot-plant consists of: 1) a solar mirror array and solar concentrator and shutter system; and 2) two thermo-catalytic reactors to convert Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Water into Hydrogen. Results from the pilot study show that solar Hydrogen generation is feasible and cost-competitive with traditional Hydrogen production. More than 95% of Hydrogen commercially produced today is by the Steam Methane Reformation (SMR) of natural gas, a process that liberates Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere. The SMR process provides a net energy loss of 30 to 35% when converting from Methane to Hydrogen. Solar Hydrogen production provides a 14% net energy gain when converting Methane into Hydrogen since the energy used to drive the process is from the sun. The environmental benefits of generating Hydrogen using renewable energy include significant greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant reductions.

Carbon Dioxide-Free Hydrogen Production with Integrated Hydrogen Separation and Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Dürr, Stefan; Müller, Michael; Jorschick, Holger; Helmin, Marta; Bösmann, Andreas; Palkovits, Regina; Wasserscheid, Peter

2017-01-10

An integration of CO 2 -free hydrogen generation through methane decomposition coupled with hydrogen/methane separation and chemical hydrogen storage through liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) systems is demonstrated. A potential, very interesting application is the upgrading of stranded gas, for example, gas from a remote gas field or associated gas from off-shore oil drilling. Stranded gas can be effectively converted in a catalytic process by methane decomposition into solid carbon and a hydrogen/methane mixture that can be directly fed to a hydrogenation unit to load a LOHC with hydrogen. This allows for a straight-forward separation of hydrogen from CH 4 and conversion of hydrogen to a hydrogen-rich LOHC material. Both, the hydrogen-rich LOHC material and the generated carbon on metal can easily be transported to destinations of further industrial use by established transport systems, like ships or trucks. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of dietary nitrate level on enteric methane production, hydrogen emission, rumen fermentation, and nutrient digestibility in dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Olijhoek, D W; Hellwing, A L F; Brask, M; Weisbjerg, M R; Højberg, O; Larsen, M K; Dijkstra, J; Erlandsen, E J; Lund, P

2016-08-01

Nitrate may lower methane production in ruminants by competing with methanogenesis for available hydrogen in the rumen. This study evaluated the effect of 4 levels of dietary nitrate addition on enteric methane production, hydrogen emission, feed intake, rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and blood methemoglobin. In a 4×4 Latin square design 4 lactating Danish Holstein dairy cows fitted with rumen, duodenal, and ileal cannulas were assigned to 4 calcium ammonium nitrate addition levels: control, low, medium, and high [0, 5.3, 13.6, and 21.1g of nitrate/kg of dry matter (DM), respectively]. Diets were made isonitrogenous by replacing urea. Cows were fed ad libitum and, after a 6-d period of gradual introduction of nitrate, adapted to the corn-silage-based total mixed ration (forage:concentrate ratio 50:50 on DM basis) for 16d before sampling. Digesta content from duodenum, ileum, and feces, and rumen liquid were collected, after which methane production and hydrogen emissions were measured in respiration chambers. Methane production [L/kg of dry matter intake (DMI)] linearly decreased with increasing nitrate concentrations compared with the control, corresponding to a reduction of 6, 13, and 23% for the low, medium, and high diets, respectively. Methane production was lowered with apparent efficiencies (measured methane reduction relative to potential methane reduction) of 82.3, 71.9, and 79.4% for the low, medium, and high diets, respectively. Addition of nitrate increased hydrogen emissions (L/kg of DMI) quadratically by a factor of 2.5, 3.4, and 3.0 (as L/kg of DMI) for the low, medium, and high diets, respectively, compared with the control. Blood methemoglobin levels and nitrate concentrations in milk and urine increased with increasing nitrate intake, but did not constitute a threat for animal health and human food safety. Microbial crude protein synthesis and efficiency were unaffected. Total volatile fatty acid

Thermodynamic analysis on the CO2 conversion processes of methane dry reforming for hydrogen production and CO2 hydrogenation to dimethyl ether

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xinyi; Liu, Liping

2017-12-01

Based on the principle of Gibbs free energy minimization, the thermodynamic analysis on the CO2 conversion processes of dry reforming of methane for H2 and CO2 hydrogenation to dimethyl ether was carried out. The composition of the reaction system was determined on the basis of reaction mechanism. The effects of reaction temperature, pressure and raw material composition on the equilibrium conversion and the selectivity of products were analyzed. The results show that high temperature, low pressure, CO2/CH4 molar ratio of 1.0-1.5 and appropriate amount of oxygen are beneficial to the dry reforming of methane. For CO2 hydrogenation to dimethyl ether, low temperature, high pressure, the appropriate H2/CO2 and the proper CO addition in feed are favorable. The calculated results are compared with the relevant studies, indicating that industrial catalytic technology needs further improvement.

Projected hydrogen cost from methane reforming for North America 2015-2050

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderveen, K.; Lutz, A.; Klebanoff, L.; Drennen, T.; Keller, J.; Drennen, T.; Kamery, W.

2006-01-01

The Hydrogen Futures Simulation Model (H 2 Sim) was used to project the cost for hydrogen at the point of sale to light duty vehicles for distributed, small-scale steam methane reforming. Projections cover the period from 2010-2050 in North America, and take into account assumptions about the quantity of recoverable natural gas remaining in North America. We conclude that there is a window for distributed reforming to play a positive role in supplying a H 2 fuel infrastructure, but this window is closing rapidly. The analysis assumes that production from natural gas reserves in North America will peak sometime before 2050 and demand will cause the price to rise after the peak of production in a manner consistent with Hotelling's model. We consider three scenarios for when the peak occurs, and evaluate the impact on the cost of hydrogen fuel produced via distributed small scale reforming in these three scenarios. (authors)

Study about hydrogen and methanation as power surplus valorization process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of technologies that allow converting power into gas as ways of providing added value to power surpluses. In the Anglo-Saxon world, and in numerous other countries, this concept is known as Power-to-Gas (PtG or P2G). The massive integration of fluctuating renewable energy sources ((wind and photovoltaic principally) into electricity systems implies more and more time periods during which production will exceed consumption. The volumes at stake could surpass the conventional capacities of flexibility and storage of the electricity system: the conversion into another energy carrier therefore appears as a solution for giving value to these surpluses. As the basic technology of Power-to-Gas, electrolysis converts electrical energy into chemical energy in the form of hydrogen gas (H2), by separating molecules of water (H 2 O). The gas produced can be used on-site in different manners, for example by a manufacturer for it's own process needs or by a filling station for hydrogen-fuelled vehicles (fuel-cell motorisation), or it can be stored locally for being later converted back into power through a fuel-cell. However it can also be directly injected into the gas distribution or transmission networks, thus creating a coupling of various energy networks and carriers: in this way the possibilities to create added-value from power surpluses are significantly increased and diversified both in terms of final use as well as across a scope of time and space. The development of Power-to-Gas can be summarized in three key steps. In the short to mid-term, hydrogen represents, when incorporated into the gas network in limited proportions (a few %) and/or used directly in some niche markets (particularly via fuel cells) a way to provide added value to substantial renewable electricity surpluses.. In the longer term, a transition toward synthetic methane production would allow to overcome all technical barriers linked with gas

Simultaneous Production of Hydrogen and Methane from Sugar Beet Molasses in a Two Phase Anaerobic Digestion System in UASB Reactors under Thermophilic Temperature (55 Deg C)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kongjan, P.; Villafa, S.; Beltran, P.; Min, B.; Angelidaki, I. (Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Technical Univ. of Denmark, DK-2800, Lyngby (Denmark)). e-mail: pak@env.dtu.dk

2008-10-15

Simultaneous production of hydrogen and methane in two sequential stages of acidogenic and methanogenic step was investigated in two serial operated up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors at thermophilic temperature (55 deg C). Hydrogen production from molasses was carried out in the first reactor at the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1 day. Molasses were converted into hydrogen with the yield of 1.3 mole-H{sub 2}/mole-hexose{sub added} or 82.7 ml- H{sub 2}/g-VS{sub added} of molasses, and the hydrogen productivity was 2696 ml-H{sub 2}/dxl{sub reactor}. The effluent (mainly butyrate, acetate and lactate) after the acidogenic process was subsequently fed to the second reactor for methane production at HRT of 3 days. Methane production yield of 255 ml-H{sub 2}/g-VS{sub added} of influent or 130.1 ml-H{sub 2}/g-VS{sub added} of molasses and methane production rate of 1056 ml/dxl{sub reactor} were obtained. Significant decrease of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was also observed in the effluent of the second reactor. A two phase anaerobic digestion was successfully demonstrated for molasses as a potential substrate to produce hydrogen and subsequent methane in the UASB reactors

Performance and microbial community analysis of two-stage process with extreme thermophilic hydrogen and thermophilic methane production from hydrolysate in UASB reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kongjan, Prawit; O-Thong, Sompong; Angelidaki, Irini

2011-01-01

The two-stage process for extreme thermophilic hydrogen and thermophilic methane production from wheat straw hydrolysate was investigated in up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors. Specific hydrogen and methane yields of 89ml-H2/g-VS (190ml-H2/g-sugars) and 307ml-CH4/g-VS, respectively were...... energy of 13.4kJ/g-VS. Dominant hydrogen-producing bacteria in the H2-UASB reactor were Thermoanaerobacter wiegelii, Caldanaerobacter subteraneus, and Caloramator fervidus. Meanwhile, the CH4-UASB reactor was dominated with methanogens of Methanosarcina mazei and Methanothermobacter defluvii. The results...

Development of CuxFe/Al2O3 catalysts for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide guided by magnetic methods, Moessbauer and infrared spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boellaard, E.; Geus, J.W.; Bruggen, J.M. van; Kraan, A.M. van der

1993-01-01

A copper-iron catalyst for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide has been prepared using a supported stoichiometric cyanide complex. Conversion of the cyanide precursor to a metallic catalyst appeared to be a precious process. Copper and iron in the bimetallic particles easily separate by thermal treatment and upon exposure to carbon monoxide, as revealed from Moessbauer and infrared spectroscopy. During Fischer-Tropsch reaction the catalyst exhibits a rapid decline of activity. Magnetisation measurements on spent catalysts indicate that the deactivation is caused by a fast conversion of metallic iron to initially unstable carbides which transform ultimately to more stable carbides. (orig.)

C1 Chemistry for the Production of Ultra-Clean Liquid Transportation Fuels and Hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerald P. Huffman

2006-03-30

Professors and graduate students from five universities--the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, University of Utah, West Virginia University, and Auburn University--are collaborating in a research program to develop C1 chemistry processes to produce ultra-clean liquid transportation fuels and hydrogen, the zero-emissions transportation fuel of the future. The feedstocks contain one carbon atom per molecular unit. They include synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by coal gasification or reforming of natural gas, methane, methanol, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. An important objective is to develop C1 technology for the production of liquid transportation fuel and hydrogen from domestically plentiful resources such as coal, coalbed methane, and hydrocarbon gases and liquids produced from coal. An Advisory Board with representatives from Chevron-Texaco, Eastman Chemical, Conoco-Phillips, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Army National Automotive Center, and Tier Associates provides guidance on the practicality of the research. The current report summarizes the results obtained in this program during the period October 1, 2002 through March 31, 2006. The results are presented in detailed reports on 16 research projects headed by professors at each of the five CFFS Universities and an Executive Summary. Some of the highlights from these results are: (1) Small ({approx}1%) additions of acetylene or other alkynes to the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reaction increases its yield, causes chain initiation, and promotes oxygenate formation. (2) The addition of Mo to Fe-Cu-K/AC F-T catalysts improves catalyst lifetime and activity. (3) The use of gas phase deposition to place highly dispersed metal catalysts on silica or ceria aerogels offers promise for both the F-T and the water-gas shift WGS reactions. (4) Improved activity and selectivity are exhibited by Co F-T catalysts in supercritical hexane. (5) Binary Fe

Enzymic oxidation of carbon monoxide. II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yagi, T

1959-01-01

An enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide was obtained in a cell free state from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. The enzyme activity was assayed manometrically by measuring the rate of gas uptake under the atmosphere of carbon monoxide in the presence of benzyl-viologen as an oxidant. The optimum pH range was 7 to 8. The activity was slightly suppressed by illumination. The enzyme was more stable than hydrogenase or formate dehydrogenase against the heat treatment, suggesting that it is a different entity from these enzymes. In the absence of an added oxidant, the enzyme preparation produced hydrogen gas under the atmosphere of carbon monoxide. The phenomenon can be explained assuming the reductive decomposition of water. 17 references, 4 figures, 2 tables.

Characterisation of water hyacinth with microwave-heated alkali pretreatment for enhanced enzymatic digestibility and hydrogen/methane fermentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Richen; Cheng, Jun; Song, Wenlu; Ding, Lingkan; Xie, Binfei; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

2015-04-01

Microwave-heated alkali pretreatment (MAP) was investigated to improve enzymatic digestibility and H2/CH4 production from water hyacinth. SEM revealed that MAP deconstructed the lignocellulose matrix and swelled the surfaces of water hyacinth. XRD indicated that MAP decreased the crystallinity index from 16.0 to 13.0 because of cellulose amorphisation. FTIR indicated that MAP effectively destroyed the lignin structure and disrupted the crystalline cellulose to reduce crystallinity. The reducing sugar yield of 0.296 g/gTVS was achieved at optimal hydrolysis conditions (microwave temperature = 190°C, time = 10 min, and cellulase dosage = 5 wt%). The sequentially fermentative hydrogen and methane yields from water hyacinth with MAP and enzymatic hydrolysis were increased to 63.9 and 172.5 mL/gTVS, respectively. The energy conversion efficiency (40.0%) in the two-stage hydrogen and methane cogeneration was lower than that (49.5%) in the one-stage methane production (237.4 mL/gTVS) from water hyacinth with MAP and enzymatic hydrolysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Permeation, diffusion and dissolution of hydrogen isotopes, methane and inert gases through/in a tetrafluoroethylene film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuyama, M.; Miyake, H.; Ashida, K.; Watanabe, K.

1982-01-01

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is widely used for conventional tritium handling systems such as vacuum seals, tubing and so on. We measured the permeation of the three hydrogen isotopes, methane and the inert gases through a TFE film at room temperature by means of the time-lag method in order to establish the physicochemical properties which determine the solubility and diffusivity of those gases. It was found that the diffusion constant of the inert gases changed exponentially with the heat of vaporization and the solubility was an exponential function of the Lennard-Jones force constant of the gases. On the other hand, hydrogen isotopes and methane deviated from these relations. It is concluded that chemical interactions between the solute and the solvent play an important role for the dissolution and the diffusion of these gases in TFE. (orig.)

Circulating fluidized bed reformer-regenerator system for hydrogen production from methane. Paper no. IGEC-1-092

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, P.; Elnashaie, S.S.E.H.

2005-01-01

Steam reforming is presently the principal route for large-scale hydrogen production from natural gas. This paper proposes a novel concept of a reactor-regenerator type circulating fluidized bed (Prasad and Elnashaie, 2002) for efficient production of hydrogen. Carbon is optimally allowed to form on the catalyst in the reactor section through methane cracking and Boudouard coking reactions, and the deactivated catalyst is regenerated in the regenerator by burning off the carbon. This concept of carbon formation and burning cannot be used in a fixed bed configuration but is possible in the proposed novel Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) configuration, which employs a reactor-regenerator type of configuration. Allowing both carbon formation and steam reforming to occur simultaneously by introducing steam as part of the feed, gives more than 3 moles hydrogen per mole of methane at almost zero energy consumption. The steam can be fed as water at room temperature, and the hot catalyst returning from the regenerator can be used to vaporize it into steam. This route is the most efficient from both hydrogen yield and energy consumption points of view. This CFB configuration exhibits the bifurcation behavior and the present paper reports an investigation of its static bifurcation characteristics through a rigorous mathematical model. (author)

Hydrogen production through sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming and membrane technology: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barelli, L.; Bidini, G.; Gallorini, F.; Servili, S.

2008-01-01

With the rapid development of industry, more and more waste gases are emitted into the atmosphere. In terms of total air emissions, CO 2 is emitted in the greatest amount, accounting for 99 wt% of the total air emissions, therefore contributing to global warming, the so-called 'Greenhouse Effect'. The recovery and disposal of CO 2 from flue gas is currently the object of great international interest. Most of the CO 2 comes from the combustion of fossil fuels in power generation, industrial boilers, residential and commercial heating, and transportation sectors. Consequently, in the last years' interest in hydrogen as an energy carrier has significantly increased both for vehicle fuelling and stationary energy production from fuel cells. The benefits of a hydrogen energy policy are the reduction of the greenhouse effect, principally due to the centralization of the emission sources. Moreover, an improvement to the environmental benefits can be achieved if hydrogen is produced from renewable sources, as biomass. The present paper provides an overview of the steam methane reforming (SMR) process and methodologies for performances improvement such as hydrogen removal, by selective permeation through a membrane or simultaneous reaction of the targeted molecule with a chemical acceptor, and equilibrium shift by the addition of a CO 2 acceptor to the reactor. In particular, attention was focused on the sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) process in which sorbents are added in order to enhance the reactions and realize in situ CO 2 separation. The major operating parameters of SE-SMR are described by the authors in order to project and then realize the innovative carbonation reactor developed in previous studies

Effects of probiotics on the faecal production of hydrogen and methane in patients with meteorism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrøder, Julie Bernstorf; Jespersen, Lene; Westermann, Peter

Meteorism is a dominating problem in the western world, especially in women. The condition is very difficult to quantify, and effective and documented therapies are not avaiable. We wanted to develop a method for measuring anaerobic production of hydrogen and methane in faeces, and to correlate t...

Anaerobic digestion for methane generation and ammonia reforming for hydrogen production: A thermodynamic energy balance of a model system to demonstrate net energy feasibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babson, David M.; Bellman, Karen; Prakash, Shaurya; Fennell, Donna E.

2013-01-01

During anaerobic digestion, organic matter is converted to carbon dioxide and methane, and organic nitrogen is converted to ammonia. Generally, ammonia is recycled as a fertilizer or removed via nitrification–denitrification in treatment systems; alternatively it could be recovered and catalytically converted to hydrogen, thus supplying additional fuel. To provide a basis for further investigation, a theoretical energy balance for a model system that incorporates anaerobic digestion, ammonia separation and recovery, and conversion of the ammonia to hydrogen is reported. The model Anaerobic Digestion-Bioammonia to Hydrogen (ADBH) system energy demands including heating, pumping, mixing, and ammonia reforming were subtracted from the total energy output from methane and hydrogen to create an overall energy balance. The energy balance was examined for the ADBH system operating with a fixed feedstock loading rate with C:N ratios (gC/gN) ranging from 136 to 3 which imposed corresponding total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations of 20–10,000 mg/L. Normalizing total energy potential to the methane potential alone indicated that at a C:N ratio of 17, the energy output was greater for the ADBH system than from anaerobic digestion generating only methane. Decreasing the C:N ratio increased the methane content of the biogas comprising primarily methane to >80% and increased the ammonia stripping energy demand. The system required 23–34% of the total energy generated as parasitic losses with no energy integration, but when internally produced heat and pressure differentials were recovered, parasitic losses were reduced to between 8 and 17%. -- Highlights: •Modeled an integrated Anaerobic Digestion-Bioammonia to Hydrogen (ADBH) system. •Demonstrated positive net energy produced over a range of conditions by ADBH. •Demonstrated significant advantages of dual fuel recovery for energy gain by >20%. •Suggested system design considerations for energy recovery with

Synergistic methane formation kinetics for hydrogen impact on carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haasz, A.A.; Davis, J.W.

1986-06-01

A physical/chemical model is presented for the reaction kinetics for methane formation from carbon, due to bombardment by energetic (∼ 100's eV) H + ions and thermal (∼ 1 eV) H 0 atoms. While the model was developed for H + and H 0 , it can be readily applied to non-hydrogenic energetic particles (ions or atoms, e.g., Ar + , He + , He) in combination with thermal (∼ 1 eV) hydrogen (again ions or atoms) impacting on carbon. Both collisional (in the case of the energetic particles) and chemical reaction processes are included. Special cases of sub-eV H 0 alone, energetic H + alone and combined H 0 plus H + were considered and fitted to experimental data. Generally good agreement was found between theoretical predictions and experimental results over the experimental flux and H + energy ranges studied (H 0 flux: 6x10 14 - 7x10 15 H 0 /cm 2 s, H + flux: 6x10 12 - 5x10 15 H + /cm 2 s, H + energy: 300 eV/H + and 1 keV/H + )

The influence of methane/argon plasma composition on the formation of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Hsin-Hung; Liao, Jiunn-Der; Weng, Chih-Chiang; Hsieh, Jui-Fu; Chang, Chia-Wei; Lin, Chao-Hsien; Cho, Ting-Pin

2011-01-01

The quality of the a-C:H films was particularly correlated with the mixed ratio of methane/argon plasma. For a constant supply of energy and flowing rate, the optical emission from H α intensity linearly increased with the addition of methane in argon plasma, while that from intensities of radiation of diatmoic radicals (CH*and C 2 *) exponentially decreased. For the a-C:H films, the added methane in argon plasma tended to raise the quantity of hydrogenated carbon or sp 3 C-H structure, which exponentially decreased the nano-hardness and friction coefficient of the films. In contrast, the electric resistance of the films enlarged dramatically with the increase of the methane content in argon plasma. It is therefore advantageous to balance the mechanical properties and electrical resistance of the a-C:H film by adjusting plasma composition in the course of the film-growing process.

Decreasing methane production in hydrogenogenic UASB reactors fed with cheese whey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrillo-Reyes, Julián; Celis, Lourdes B.; Alatriste-Mondragón, Felipe; Razo-Flores, Elías

2014-01-01

One of the problems in fermentative hydrogen producing reactors, inoculated with pre-treated anaerobic granular sludge, is the eventual methane production by hydrogen-consuming methanogens. In this study, strategies such as reduction of pH and HRT, organic shock loads and repeated biomass heat treatment were applied to hydrogenogenic UASB reactors fed with cheese whey, that showed methane production after certain time of continuous operation (between 10 and 60 days). The reduction of pH to 4.5 not only decreased methane production but also hydrogen production. Organic shock load (from 20 to 30 g COD/L-d) was the more effective strategy to decrease the methane production rate (75%) and to increase the hydrogen production rate (172%), without stopping reactor operation. Repeated heat treatment of the granular sludge was the only strategy that inhibited completely methane production, leading to high volumetric hydrogen production rates (1.67 L H 2 /L-d), however this strategy required stopping reactor operation; in addition homoacetogenesis, another hydrogen-consuming pathway, was not completely inhibited. This work demonstrated that it was possible to control the methane activity in hydrogen producing reactors using operational strategies. - Highlights: • Operational strategies control methane in hydrogen production from cheese whey. • Organic shock load increased the hydrogen production rate. • Operation pH below 5 decreased both the hydrogen and methane production. • Second biomass heat treatment inhibits completely methanogenesis. • Homoacetogens play a negative role in fermentative hydrogen production

Hydrogen production using thermocatalytic decomposition of methane on Ni30/activated carbon and Ni30/carbon black.

Science.gov (United States)

Srilatha, K; Viditha, V; Srinivasulu, D; Ramakrishna, S U B; Himabindu, V

2016-05-01

Hydrogen is an energy carrier of the future need. It could be produced from different sources and used for power generation or as a transport fuel which mainly in association with fuel cells. The primary challenge for hydrogen production is reducing the cost of production technologies to make the resulting hydrogen cost competitive with conventional fuels. Thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane is one of the most advantageous processes, which will meet the future demand, hence an attractive route for COx free environment. The present study deals with the production of hydrogen with 30 wt% of Ni impregnated in commercially available activated carbon and carbon black catalysts (samples coded as Ni30/AC and Ni30/CB, respectively). These combined catalysts were not attempted by previous studies. Pure form of hydrogen is produced at 850 °C and volume hourly space velocity (VHSV) of 1.62 L/h g on the activity of both the catalysts. The analysis (X-ray diffraction (XRD)) of the catalysts reveals moderately crystalline peaks of Ni, which might be responsible for the increase in catalytic life along with formation of carbon fibers. The activity of carbon black is sustainable for a longer time compared to that of activated carbon which has been confirmed by life time studies (850 °C and 54 sccm of methane).

Kinetics of methane decomposition to CO{sub x}-free hydrogen and carbon nanofiber over Ni-Cu/MgO catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borghei, Maryam; Karimzadeh, Ramin [Chemical Engineering Department, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran); Rashidi, Alimorad; Izadi, Nosrat [Research Center of Nanotechnology, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Tehran (Iran)

2010-09-15

Kinetic modeling of methane decomposition to CO{sub x}-free hydrogen and carbon nanofiber has been carried out in the temperature range 550-650 C over Ni-Cu/MgO catalyst from CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} mixtures at atmospheric pressure. Assuming the different mechanisms of the reaction, several kinetic models were derived based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood type. The optimum value of kinetic parameters has been obtained by Genetic Algorithm and statistical analysis has been used for the model discrimination. The suggested kinetic model relates to the mechanism when the dissociative adsorption of methane molecule is the rate-determining stage and the estimated activation energy is 50.4 kJ/mol in agreement with the literature. The catalyst deactivation was found to be dependent on the time, reaction temperature, and partial pressures of methane and hydrogen. Inspection of the behavior of the catalyst activity in relation to time, led to a model of second order for catalyst deactivation. (author)

Potential for biohydrogen and methane production from olive pulp

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gavala, Hariklia N.; Skiadas, Ioannis V.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

2005-01-01

The present study investigates the potential for thermophilic biohydrogen and methane production from olive pulp, which is the semi-solid residue coming from the two-phase processing of olives. It focussed on: a) production of methane from the raw olive pulp, b) anaerobic bio-production of hydrogen...... from the olive pulp, and c) subsequent anaerobic treatment of the hydrogen-effluent with the simultaneous production of methane. Both continuous and batch experiments were performed. The hydrogen potential of the olive pulp amounted to 1.6 mmole H-2 per g TS. The methane potential of the raw olive pulp...... and hydrogen-effluent was as high as 19 mmole CH4 per g TS. This suggests that olive pulp is an ideal substrate for methane production and it shows that biohydrogen production can be very efficiently coupled with a subsequent step for methane production....

Hydrogen amplification of coke oven gas by reforming of methane in a ceramic membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yuwen; Li, Qian; Shen, Peijun; Liu, Yong; Yang, Zhibin; Ding, Weizhong; Lu, Xionggang [School of Material Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, No. 275 Mail Box, 149 Yanchang Road, Shanghai 200072 (China)

2008-07-15

To maximize hydrogen production from coke oven gas (COG), partial oxidation of methane in COG was studied thermodynamically and experimentally. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that an optimal hydrogen yield of 1.04-1.10 mole per mole of the consumed COG can be achieved when the initial ratio of O{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} is 0.57-0.46 in a temperature range of 800-900 C, and the corresponding amplification of original hydrogen in COG reaches 1.8-1.9 times. The amplification of original hydrogen was carried out in a BaCo{sub 0.7}Fe{sub 0.2}Nb{sub 0.1}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BCFNO) membrane reactor, and the hydrogen yield in the lab scale was about 80% more than that of original H{sub 2} in model COG. In a large hydrogen content in COG, the ceramic membrane reactors made from perovskite mixed-conducting oxygen-permeable materials must have higher stability to withstand the harsh reduction condition. (author)

In silico search for novel methane steam reforming catalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Yue; Lausche, Adam C; Khan, Tuhin S; Abild-Pedersen, Frank; Studt, Felix; Nørskov, Jens K; Bligaard, Thomas; Wang, Shengguang

2013-01-01

This paper demonstrates a method for screening transition metal and metal alloy catalysts based on their predicted rates and stabilities for a given catalytic reaction. This method involves combining reaction and activation energies (available to the public via a web-based application ‘CatApp’) with a microkinetic modeling technique to predict the rates and selectivities of a prospective material. This paper illustrates this screening technique using the steam reforming of methane to carbon monoxide and hydrogen as a test reaction. While catalysts are already commercially available for this process, the method demonstrated in this paper is very general and could be applied to a wide range of catalytic reactions. Following the steps outlined herein, such an analysis could potentially enable researchers to understand reaction mechanisms on a fundamental level and, on this basis, develop leads for new metal alloy catalysts. (paper)

Cyclic process for producing methane in a tubular reactor with effective heat removal

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Albert C.; Yang, Chang-Lee

1986-01-01

Carbon monoxide-containing gas streams are converted to methane by a cyclic, essentially two-step process in which said carbon monoxide is disproportionated to form carbon dioxide and active surface carbon deposited on the surface of a catalyst, and said carbon is reacted with steam to form product methane and by-product carbon dioxide. The exothermic heat of reaction generated in each step is effectively removed during each complete cycle so as to avoid a build up of heat from cycle-to-cycle, with particularly advantageous techniques being employed for fixed bed, tubular and fluidized bed reactor operations.

On Estimation of Contamination from Hydrogen Cyanide in Carbon Monoxide Line-intensity Mapping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Dongwoo T.; Li, Tony Y.; Viero, Marco P.; Church, Sarah E.; Wechsler, Risa H., E-mail: dongwooc@stanford.edu [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Physics Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2017-09-01

Line-intensity mapping surveys probe large-scale structure through spatial variations in molecular line emission from a population of unresolved cosmological sources. Future such surveys of carbon monoxide line emission, specifically the CO(1-0) line, face potential contamination from a disjointed population of sources emitting in a hydrogen cyanide emission line, HCN(1-0). This paper explores the potential range of the strength of HCN emission and its effect on the CO auto power spectrum, using simulations with an empirical model of the CO/HCN–halo connection. We find that effects on the observed CO power spectrum depend on modeling assumptions but are very small for our fiducial model, which is based on current understanding of the galaxy–halo connection. Given the fiducial model, we expect the bias in overall CO detection significance due to HCN to be less than 1%.

Comparison of alternate fuels for aircraft. [liquid hydrogen, liquid methane, and synthetic aviation kerosene

Science.gov (United States)

Witcofski, R. D.

1979-01-01

Liquid hydrogen, liquid methane, and synthetic aviation kerosene were assessed as alternate fuels for aircraft in terms of cost, capital requirements, and energy resource utilization. Fuel transmission and airport storage and distribution facilities are considered. Environmental emissions and safety aspects of fuel selection are discussed and detailed descriptions of various fuel production and liquefaction processes are given. Technological deficiencies are identified.

The origin of methane and biomolecules from a CO2 cycle on terrestrial planets

Science.gov (United States)

Civiš, Svatopluk; Knížek, Antonín; Ivanek, Ondřej; Kubelík, Petr; Zukalová, Markéta; Kavan, Ladislav; Ferus, Martin

2017-10-01

Understanding the chemical evolution of newly formed terrestrial planets involves uncertainties in atmospheric chemical composition and assessing the plausibility of biomolecule synthesis. In this study, an original scenario for the origin of methane on Mars and terrestrial planets is suggested. Carbon dioxide in Martian and other planetary atmospheres can be abiotically converted into a mixture of methane and carbon monoxide by `methanogenesis' on porous mineral photoactive surfaces under soft ultraviolet irradiation. On young planets exposed to heavy bombardment by interplanetary matter, this process can be followed by biomolecule synthesis through the reprocessing of reactive reducing atmospheres by impact-induced shock waves. The proposed mechanism of methanogenesis may help to answer the question concerning the formation of methane and carbon monoxide by photochemical processes, the formation of biomolecules on early Earth and other terrestrial planets, and the source and seasonal variation of methane concentrations on Mars.

Numerical Study of Contaminant Effects on Combustion of Hydrogen, Ethane, and Methane in Air

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, H. T.; Thomas, S. R.

1995-01-01

A numerical study was performed to assess the effects of vitiated air on the chemical kinetics of hydrogen, ethane, and methane combustion with air. A series of calculations in static reacting systems was performed, where the initial temperature was specified and reactions occurred at constant pressure. Three different types of test flow contaminants were considered: NP, H2O, and a combustion of H2O and CO2. These contaminants are present in the test flows of facilities used for hypersonic propulsion testing. The results were computed using a detailed reaction mechanism and are presented in terms of ignition and reaction times. Calculations were made for a wide range of contaminant concentrations, temperatures and pressures. The results indicate a pronounced kinetic effect over a range of temperatures, especially with NO contamination and, to a lesser degree, with H2O contamination. In all cases studied, CO2 remained kinetically inert, but had a thermodynamic effect on results by acting as a third body. The largest effect is observed with combustion using hydrogen fuel, less effect is seen with combustion of ethane, and little effect of contaminants is shown with methane combustion.

Hydrogen production from sewage sludge by steam gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aye, L.; Klinkajorn, P. [Melbourne Univ. International Technologies Centre, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

2006-07-01

Because of the shortage of energy sources in the near future, renewable energy, such as biomass, has become an important source of energy. One of the most common approaches for producing gaseous fuels from biomass is gasification. The main product gases of gasification are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and low molecular weight hydrocarbons. Because of the capability of very low emission at the point of use, the interest in using hydrogen for electrical power generation and in electric-vehicles has been increasing. Hydrogen from biomass steam gasification (SG) is a net zero green house gas emission fuel. Sewage sludge (SS) has a potential to produce hydrogen-rich gaseous fuel. Therefore, hydrogen production from sewage sludge may be a solution for cleaner fuel and the sewage sludge disposal problem. This paper presented the results of a computer model for SSSG by using Gibbs free energy minimization (GFEM) method. The computer model developed was used to determine the hydrogen production limits for various steam to biomass ratios. The paper presented an introduction to renewable energy and gasification and discussed the Gibbs free energy minimization method. The study used a RAND algorithm. It presented the computer model input parameters and discussed the results of the stoichiometric analysis and Gibbs free energy minimization. The energy requirement for hydrogen production was also presented. 17 refs., 1 tab., 6 figs.

Methane-free biogas for direct feeding of solid oxide fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Leone, P.; Lanzini, A.; Santarelli, M.; Calì, M.; Sagnelli, F.; Boulanger, A.; Scaletta, A.; Zitella, P.

This paper deals with the experimental analysis of the performance and degradation issues of a Ni-based anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell fed by a methane-free biogas from dark-anaerobic digestion of wastes by pastry and fruit shops. The biogas is produced by means of an innovative process where the biomass is fermented with a pre-treated bacteria inoculum (Clostridia) able to completely inhibit the methanization step during the fermentation process and to produce a H 2/CO 2 mixture instead of conventional CH 4/CO 2 anaerobic digested gas (bio-methane). The proposed biogas production route leads to a biogas composition which avoids the need of introducing a reformer agent into or before the SOFC anode in order to reformate it. In order to analyse the complete behaviour of a SOFC with the bio-hydrogen fuel, an experimental session with several H 2/CO 2 synthetic mixtures was performed on an anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell with a Ni-based anode. It was found that side reactions occur with such mixtures in the typical thermodynamic conditions of SOFCs (650-800 °C), which have an effect especially at high currents, due to the shift to a mixture consisting of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and water. However, cells operated with acceptable performance and carbon deposits (typical of a traditional hydrocarbon-containing biogas) were avoided after 50 h of cell operation even at 650 °C. Experiments were also performed with traditional bio-methane from anaerobic digestion with 60/40 vol% of composition. It was found that the cell performance dropped after few hours of operation due to the formation of carbon deposits. A short-term test with the real as-produced biogas was also successfully performed. The cell showed an acceptable power output (at 800 °C, 0.35 W cm -2 with biogas, versus 0.55 W cm -2 with H 2) although a huge quantity of sulphur was present in the feeding fuel (hydrogen sulphide at 103 ppm and mercaptans up to 10 ppm). Therefore, it

Methane-free biogas for direct feeding of solid oxide fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leone, P.; Lanzini, A.; Santarelli, M.; Cali, M. [Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin (Italy); Sagnelli, F.; Boulanger, A.; Scaletta, A.; Zitella, P. [BioEnergy Lab, Environment Park S.p.A., Via Livorno 60, 10144 Turin (Italy)

2010-01-01

This paper deals with the experimental analysis of the performance and degradation issues of a Ni-based anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell fed by a methane-free biogas from dark-anaerobic digestion of wastes by pastry and fruit shops. The biogas is produced by means of an innovative process where the biomass is fermented with a pre-treated bacteria inoculum (Clostridia) able to completely inhibit the methanization step during the fermentation process and to produce a H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} mixture instead of conventional CH{sub 4}/CO{sub 2} anaerobic digested gas (bio-methane). The proposed biogas production route leads to a biogas composition which avoids the need of introducing a reformer agent into or before the SOFC anode in order to reformate it. In order to analyse the complete behaviour of a SOFC with the bio-hydrogen fuel, an experimental session with several H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} synthetic mixtures was performed on an anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell with a Ni-based anode. It was found that side reactions occur with such mixtures in the typical thermodynamic conditions of SOFCs (650-800 C), which have an effect especially at high currents, due to the shift to a mixture consisting of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and water. However, cells operated with acceptable performance and carbon deposits (typical of a traditional hydrocarbon-containing biogas) were avoided after 50 h of cell operation even at 650 C. Experiments were also performed with traditional bio-methane from anaerobic digestion with 60/40 vol% of composition. It was found that the cell performance dropped after few hours of operation due to the formation of carbon deposits. A short-term test with the real as-produced biogas was also successfully performed. The cell showed an acceptable power output (at 800 C, 0.35 W cm{sup -2} with biogas, versus 0.55 W cm{sup -2} with H{sub 2}) although a huge quantity of sulphur was present in the feeding fuel (hydrogen sulphide at 103 ppm and

Laminar flame properties and flame acceleration prediction of hydrogen-methane mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coudoro, K. [Inst. de Combustion, Aerothermique, Reactivite et Environnement CNRS Orleans (France); Inst. de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, DSR/SAGR, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Chaumeix, N. [Inst. de Combustion, Aerothermique, Reactivite et Environnement CNRS Orleans (France); Bentaib, A. [Inst. de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, DSR/SAGR, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Paillard, C-E. [Inst. de Combustion, Aerothermique, Reactivite et Environnement CNRS Orleans (France)

2011-07-01

The combustion of a binary mixture of methane and hydrogen has been studied using 2 different experimental setups: the spherical bomb to investigate the fundamental flame properties of this mixture with air, initially at 100 kPa, at different initial temperatures (300 - 363 K) and for a wide range of equivalence ratios (0.8 - 1.4); ENACCEF to investigate the flame acceleration phenomena in smooth tube for mixtures initially at ambient conditions and for equivalence ratios ranging between 0.57 and 0.84. A detailed kinetic mechanism has been used to derive the activation energies needed for the flame acceleration analysis. (author)

Numerical analysis of performance of steam reformer of methane reforming hydrogen production system connected with high-temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Huaqiang; Jiang Shengyao; Zhang Youjie

2007-01-01

Methane conversion rate and hydrogen output are important performance indexes of the steam reformer. The paper presents numerical analysis of performance of the reformer connected with high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTR-10. Setting helium inlet flow rate fixed, performance of the reformer was examined with different helium inlet temperature, pressure, different process gas temperature, pressure, flow rate, and different steam to carbon ratio. As the range concerned, helium inlet temperature has remarkable influence on the performance, and helium inlet temperature, process gas temperature and pressure have little influence on the performance, and improving process gas flow rate, methane conversion rate decreases and hydrogen output increases, however improving steam to carbon ratio has reverse influence on the performance. (authors)

C1 CHEMISTRY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ULTRA-CLEAN LIQUID TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND HYDROGEN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerald P. Huffman

2004-09-30

The Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science (CFFS) is a research consortium with participants from the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University, University of Utah, and Auburn University. The CFFS is conducting a research program to develop C1 chemistry technology for the production of clean transportation fuel from resources such as coal and natural gas, which are more plentiful domestically than petroleum. The processes under development will convert feedstocks containing one carbon atom per molecular unit into ultra clean liquid transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) and hydrogen, which many believe will be the transportation fuel of the future. Feedstocks include synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by coal gasification, coalbed methane, light products produced by Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, methanol, and natural gas.

Development of a high-efficiency hydrogen generator for fuel cells for distributed power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duraiswamy, K.; Chellappa, Anand [Intelligent Energy, 2955 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806 (United States); Smith, Gregory; Liu, Yi; Li, Mingheng [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768 (United States)

2010-09-15

A collaborative effort between Intelligent Energy and Cal Poly Pomona has developed an adsorption enhanced reformer (AER) for hydrogen generation for use in conjunction with fuel cells in small sizes. The AER operates at a lower temperature (about 500 C) and has a higher hydrogen yield and purity than those in the conventional steam reforming. It employs ceria supported rhodium as the catalyst and potassium-promoted hydrotalcites to remove carbon dioxide from the products. A novel pulsing feed concept is developed for the AER operation to allow a deeper conversion of the feedstock to hydrogen. Continuous production of near fuel-cell grade hydrogen is demonstrated in the AER with four packed beds running alternately. In the best case of methane reforming, the overall conversion to hydrogen is 92% while the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide concentrations in the production stream are on the ppm level. The ratio of carbon dioxide in the regeneration exhaust to the one in the product stream is on the order of 10{sup 3}. (author)

Hydrogen and methane generation from large hydraulic plant: Thermo-economic multi-level time-dependent optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivarolo, M.; Magistri, L.; Massardo, A.F.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We investigate H 2 and CH 4 production from very large hydraulic plant (14 GW). • We employ only “spilled energy”, not used by hydraulic plant, for H 2 production. • We consider the integration with energy taken from the grid at different prices. • We consider hydrogen conversion in chemical reactors to produce methane. • We find plants optimal size using a time-dependent thermo-economic approach. - Abstract: This paper investigates hydrogen and methane generation from large hydraulic plant, using an original multilevel thermo-economic optimization approach developed by the authors. Hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis employing time-dependent hydraulic energy related to the water which is not normally used by the plant, known as “spilled water electricity”. Both the demand for spilled energy and the electrical grid load vary widely by time of year, therefore a time-dependent hour-by-hour one complete year analysis has been carried out, in order to define the optimal plant size. This time period analysis is necessary to take into account spilled energy and electrical load profiles variability during the year. The hydrogen generation plant is based on 1 MWe water electrolysers fuelled with the “spilled water electricity”, when available; in the remaining periods, in order to assure a regular H 2 production, the energy is taken from the electrical grid, at higher cost. To perform the production plant size optimization, two hierarchical levels have been considered over a one year time period, in order to minimize capital and variable costs. After the optimization of the hydrogen production plant size, a further analysis is carried out, with a view to converting the produced H 2 into methane in a chemical reactor, starting from H 2 and CO 2 which is obtained with CCS plants and/or carried by ships. For this plant, the optimal electrolysers and chemical reactors system size is defined. For both of the two solutions, thermo

Methane- and Hydrogen-Influenced Microbial Communities in Hydrothermal Plumes above the Atlantis Massif, Mid Atlantic Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, C. L.; Schrenk, M.

2017-12-01

Ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems associated with slow-spreading mid ocean ridges emit copious amounts of hydrogen and methane into the deep-sea, generated through a process known as serpentinization. Hydrothermal plumes carrying the reduced products of water-rock interaction dissipate and mix with deep seawater, and potentially harbor microbial communities adapted to these conditions. Methane and hydrogen enriched hydrothermal plumes were sampled from 3 sites near the Atlantis Massif (30°N, Mid Atlantic Ridge) during IODP Expedition 357 and used to initiate cultivation experiments targeting methanotrophic and hydrogenotrophic microorganisms. One set of experiments incubated the cultures at in situ hydrostatic pressures and gas concentrations resulting in the enrichment of gammaproteobacterial assemblages, including Marinobacter spp. That may be involved in hydrocarbon degradation. A second set of experiments pursued the anaerobic enrichment of microbial communities on solid media, resulting in the enrichment of alphaproteobacteria related to Ruegeria. The most prodigious growth in both case occurred in methane-enriched media, which may play a role as both an energy and carbon source. Ongoing work is evaluating the physiological characteristics of these isolates, including their metabolic outputs under different physical-chemical conditions. In addition to providing novel isolates from hydrothermal habitats near the Lost City Hydrothermal Field, these experiments will provide insight into the ecology of microbial communities from serpentinization influenced hydrothermal systems that may aid in future exploration of these sites.

Comparison between Hydrogen and Methane Fuels in a 3-D Scramjet at Mach 8

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-24

scramjet using a cavity based flame holder in the T4 shock tunnel at The University of Queensland, as well as a companion fundamental CFD study. The...shock tunnel. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Airbreathing Engines, Hypersonics , Propulsion, AOARD 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18...Report Comparison between hydrogen, methane and ethylene fuels in a 3-D Scramjet at Mach 8 Professor Michael K. Smart Chair of Hypersonic Propulsion

Kinetics, isotope effects, and mechanism for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide on supported nickel catalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, T.; Masuda, H.; Imai, H.; Miyamoto, A.; Baba, S.; Murakami, Y.

1982-01-01

Kinetics and hydrogen-deuterium isotope effects in the methanation of adsorbed CO molecules on a Ni/SiO 2 catalyst were precisely measured by using pulse surface reaction rate analysis (PSRA). When a CO pulse was injected into flowing hydrogen, it was immediately adsorbed on the catalyst and gradually hydrogenated to CH 4 and H 2 O. The amounts of CH 4 and H 2 O produced by the hydrogenation of the adsorbed CO were determined up to various times, and it was found that CH 4 and H 2 O were produced at the same rate. When O 2 instead of CO was injected, H 2 O was immediately produced. From these results, the rate-determining step of the reaction was found to be C-O bond dissociation of an adsorbed CO molecule or a partially hydrogenated CO species. By PSRA, the rate constant for the C-O bond dissocition process per adsorbed CO molecule (k/sub H/) was determined at various temperatures, and the Arrhenius parameters of the rate constant were obtained. The rate constant in flowing deuterium (k/sub D/) was also determined. it was found that k/sub D/ is considerably larger than k/sub H/, indicating an inverse isotope effect. The average value of k/sub H//k/sub D/ was 0.75. From these results, it was concluded that adsorbed CO is not directly dissociated to surface carbon and oxygen atoms but it is partially hydrogenated before C-O bond dissociation under the conditions of the PSRA experiment. 8 figures

Potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions using surplus electricity in hydrogen, methane and methanol production via electrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uusitalo, Ville; Väisänen, Sanni; Inkeri, Eero; Soukka, Risto

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Greenhouse gas emission reductions using power-to-x processes are studied using life cycle assessment. • Surplus electricity use led to greenhouse gas emission reductions in all studied cases. • Highest reductions can be achieved by using hydrogen to replace fossil based hydrogen. • High reductions are also achieved when fossil transportation fuels are replaced. - Abstract: Using a life cycle perspective, potentials for greenhouse gas emission reductions using various power-to-x processes via electrolysis have been compared. Because of increasing renewable electricity production, occasionally surplus renewable electricity is produced, which leads to situations where the price of electricity approach zero. This surplus electricity can be used in hydrogen, methane and methanol production via electrolysis and other additional processes. Life cycle assessments have been utilized to compare these options in terms of greenhouse gas emission reductions. All of the power-to-x options studied lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions as compared to conventional production processes based on fossil fuels. The highest greenhouse gas emission reductions can be gained when hydrogen from steam reforming is replaced by hydrogen from the power-to-x process. High greenhouse gas emission reductions can also be achieved when power-to-x products are utilized as an energy source for transportation, replacing fossil transportation fuels. A third option with high greenhouse gas emission reduction potential is methane production, storing and electricity conversion in gas engines during peak consumption hours. It is concluded that the power-to-x processes provide a good potential solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in various sectors.

Three Gaseous Neurotransmitters, Nitric oxide, Carbon Monoxide, and Hydrogen Sulfide, Are Involved in the Neurogenic Relaxation Responses of the Porcine Internal Anal Sphincter.

Science.gov (United States)

Folasire, Oladayo; Mills, Kylie A; Sellers, Donna J; Chess-Williams, Russ

2016-01-31

The internal anal sphincter (IAS) plays an important role in maintaining continence and a number of neurotransmitters are known to regulate IAS tone. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of the neurotransmitters involved in the relaxant and contractile responses of the porcine IAS. Responses of isolated strips of IAS to electrical field stimulation (EFS) were obtained in the absence and presence of inhibitors of neurotransmitter systems. Contractile responses of the sphincter to EFS were unaffected by the muscarinic receptor antagonist, atropine (1 μM), but were almost completely abolished by the adrenergic neuron blocker guanethidine (10 μM). Contractile responses were also reduced (by 45% at 5 Hz, P 40-50% reduction), zinc protoprophyrin IX (10 μM), an inhibitor of carbon monoxide synthesis (20-40% reduction), and also propargylglycine (30 μM) and aminooxyacetic acid (30 μM), inhibitors of hydrogen sulphide synthesis (15-20% reduction). Stimulation of IAS efferent nerves releases excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters: noradrenaline is the predominant contractile transmitter with a smaller component from ATP, whilst 3 gases mediate relaxation responses to EFS, with the combined contributions being nitric oxide > carbon monoxide > hydrogen sulfide.

Stability and Behaviors of Methane/Propane and Hydrogen Micro Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimoto, Takamitsu; Kinoshita, Koichiro; Kitamura, Hideki; Tanigawa, Ryoichi

The flame stability limits essentially define the fundamental operation of the combustion system. Recently the micro diffusion flame has been remarked. The critical conditions of the flame stability limit are highly dependent on nozzle diameter, species of fuel and so on. The micro diffusion flame of Methane/Propane and Hydrogen is formed by using the micro-scale nozzle of which inner diameter is less than 1mm. The configurations and behaviors of the flame are observed directly and visualized by the high speed video camera The criteria of stability limits are proposed for the micro diffusion flame. The objectives of the present study are to get further understanding of lifting/blow-off for the micro diffusion flame. The results obtained are as follows. (1) The behaviors of the flames are classified into some regions for each diffusion flame. (2) The micro diffusion flame of Methane/Propane cannot be sustained, when the nozzle diameter is less than 0.14 mm. (3) The diffusion flame cannot be sustained below the critical fuel flow rate. (4) The minimum flow which is formed does not depends on the average jet velocity, but on the fuel flow rate. (5) the micro flame is laminar. The flame length is decided by fuel flow rate.

Conversion of carbon monoxide intensities tomolecular hydrogen abundances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kutner, M.L.; Leung, C.M.

1985-01-01

We present results of theoretical models (static spherical clouds with a microturbulent velocity field) to study the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) line parameters into molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) column densities, N2. The three potential H 2 tracers that we investigate are the integrated 12 CO and 13 CO intensities, I 12 and I 13 , and the 13 CO LTE column density, N( 13 . We find that I 12 may be a reasonable tracer of N2 under conditions appropriate to the envelopes of giant molecular clouds and for studies involving cloud ensembles of different cloud sizes and velocity dispersions. However, it saturates under higher density conditions. It is important that empirical conversion factors be set using the types of objects to which they will be applied. For this reason, our analysis suggests that the conversion factor N2/I 12 for giant molecular clouds in the molecular ring of our galaxy may be a factor of 2 lower than the average used by many observers. This lower value is supported by some recent empirical determinations. The quantity I 13 is a good tracer of N2 over a wide range of densities but it is more sensitive to the actual 13 CO abundance. The quantity N( 13 is similar to I 13 as a good tracer of N2 except at low densities and temperatures. The ratio I 12 /I 13 may be used to delineate temperature and column density effects. Finally, we find a strong temperature dependence in the various conversion factors, with N2/I 12 scaling with gas temperature (T/sub k/ approximately as (T/sub k/)/sup -1.3/

A Novel Framework for Quantifying past Methane Recycling by Sphagnum-Methanotroph Symbiosis Using Carbon and Hydrogen Isotope Ratios of Leaf Wax Biomarkers

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Jonathan E.; Isles, Peter D. F.; Peteet, Dorothy M.

2014-01-01

The concentration of atmospheric methane is strongly linked to variations in Earth's climate. Currently, we can directly reconstruct the total atmospheric concentration of methane, but not individual terms of the methane cycle. Northern wetlands, dominated by Sphagnum, are an important contributor of atmospheric methane, and we seek to understand the methane cycle in these systems. We present a novel method for quantifying the proportion of carbon Sphagnum assimilates from its methanotrophic symbionts using stable isotope ratios of leaf-wax biomarkers. Carbon isotope ratios of Sphagnum compounds are determined by two competing influences, water content and the isotope ratio of source carbon. We disentangled these effects using a combined hydrogen and carbon isotope approach. We constrained Sphagnum water content using the contrast between the hydrogen isotope ratios of Sphagnum and vascular plant biomarkers. We then used Sphagnum water content to calculate the carbon isotope ratio of Sphagnum's carbon pool. Using a mass balance equation, we calculated the proportion of recycled methane contributed to the Sphagnum carbon pool, 'PRM.' We quantified PRM in peat monoliths from three microhabitats in the Mer Bleue peatland complex. Modern studies have shown that water table depth and vegetation have strong influences on the peatland methane cycle on instrumental time scales. With this new approach, delta C-13 of Sphagnum compounds are now a useful tool for investigating the relationships among hydrology, vegetation, and methanotrophy in Sphagnum peatlands over the time scales of entire peatland sediment records, vital to our understanding of the global carbon cycle through the Late Glacial and Holocene.

Helium-cooled nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longton, P.B.; Cowen, H.C.

1975-01-01

In helium cooled HTR's there is a by-pass circuit for cleaning purposes in addition to the main cooling circuit. This is to remove such impurities as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and water from the coolant. In this system, part of the coolant successively flows first through an oxidation bed of copper oxide and an absorption bed of silica gel, then through activated charcoal or a molecular sieve. The hydrogen and carbon monoxide impurities are absorbed and the dry gas is returned to the main cooling circuit. To lower the hydrogen/water ratio without increasing the hydrogen fraction in the main cooling circuit, some of the hydrogen fraction converted into water is added to the cooling circuit. This is done, inter alia, by bypassing the water produced in the oxidation bed before it enters the absorption bed. The rest of the by-pass circuit, however, also includes an absorption bed with a molecular sieve. This absorbs the oxidized carbon monoxide fraction. In this way, such side effects as the formation of additional methane, carburization of the materials of the by-pass circuit or loss of graphite are avoided. (DG/RF) [de

Integrated methanol synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeger, W.

1982-01-01

This invention concerns a plant for methanol manufacture from gasified coal, particularly using nuclear power. In order to reduce the cost of the hydrogen circuits, the methanol synthesis is integrated in the coal gasification plant. The coal used is gasified with hydration by means of hydrogen and the crude gas emerging, after cooling and separating the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, is mixed with the synthetic gas leaving the methane cracking furnace. This mixture is taken to the methanol synthesis and more than 90% is converted into methanol in one pass. The gas mixture remaning after condensation and separation of methanol is decomposed into three fractions in low temperature gas decomposition with a high proportion of unconverted carbon monoxide. The flow of methane is taken to the cracking furnace with steam, the flow of hydrogen is taken to the hydrating coal gasifier, and the flow of carbon monoxide is taken to the methanol synthesis. The heat required for cracking the methane can either be provided by a nuclear reactor or by the coke left after hydrating gasification. (orig./RB) [de

Iron ore catalysts for methane decomposition to make CO x free hydrogen and carbon nano material

KAUST Repository

Zhou, Lu; Enakonda, Linga Reddy; Li, Sheng; Gary, Daniel; Del-Gallo, Pascal; Mennemann, Christina; Basset, Jean-Marie

2018-01-01

In this work, for the first time, iron ores with 91.7%–96.2% FeO, 1.3%–2.3% AlO, 1.2%–4.5% SiO, 1.3%–3.9% NaO, were studied directly as bulk catalysts for methane decomposition. By hydrogen pre-reduction at 850 °C, FeO species on iron ores were

SAES St 909 pilot scale methane cracking tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, J. E.; Sessions, H. T.

2008-01-01

Pilot scale (0.5 kg) SAES St 909 methane cracking tests were conducted for potential tritium process applications. Up to 1400 hours tests were done at 700 deg.C, 202.7 kPa (1520 torr) with a 0.03 sLPM feed of methane plus impurities, in a 20 vol% hydrogen, balance helium, stream. Carbon dioxide gettered by St 909 can be equated to an equivalent amount of methane gettered, but equating nitrogen to an equivalent amount of methane was nitrogen feed composition dependent. A decreased hydrogen feed increased methane getter rates while a 30 deg.C drop in one furnace zone increased methane emissions by over a factor of 30. The impact of gettered nitrogen can be somewhat minimized if nitrogen feed to the bed has been stopped and sufficient time given to recover the methane cracking rate. (authors)

Comparison between Hydrogen, Methane and Ethylene Fuels in a 3-D Scramjet at Mach 8

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-24

scramjet using a cavity based flame holder in the T4 shock tunnel at The University of Queensland, as well as a companion fundamental CFD study. The...shock tunnel. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Airbreathing Engines, Hypersonics , Propulsion, AOARD 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18...Report Comparison between hydrogen, methane and ethylene fuels in a 3-D Scramjet at Mach 8 Professor Michael K. Smart Chair of Hypersonic Propulsion

Operation of a steam hydro-gasifier in a fluidized bed reactor

OpenAIRE

Park, Chan Seung; Norbeck, Joseph N.

2008-01-01

Carbonaceous material, which can comprise municipal waste, biomass, wood, coal, or a natural or synthetic polymer, is converted to a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas by heating the carbonaceous material in a fluidized bed reactor using hydrogen, as fluidizing medium, and using steam, under reducing conditions at a temperature and pressure sufficient to generate a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas but at a temperature low enough and/or at a pressure high enough to en...

From Fundamental Understanding To Predicting New Nanomaterials For High Capacity Hydrogen/Methane Storage and Carbon Capture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yildirim, Taner [Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2015-03-03

On-board hydrogen/methane storage in fuel cell-powered vehicles is a major component of the national need to achieve energy independence and protect the environment. The main obstacles in hydrogen storage are slow kinetics, poor reversibility and high dehydrogenation temperatures for the chemical hydrides; and very low desorption temperatures/energies for the physisorption materials (MOF’s, porous carbons). Similarly, the current methane storage technologies are mainly based on physisorption in porous materials but the gravimetric and volumetric storage capacities are below the target values. Finally, carbon capture, a critical component of the mitigation of CO2 emissions from industrial plants, also suffers from similar problems. The solid-absorbers such as MOFs are either not stable against real flue-gas conditions and/or do not have large enough CO2 capture capacity to be practical and cost effective. In this project, we addressed these challenges using a unique combination of computational, synthetic and experimental methods. The main scope of our research was to achieve fundamental understanding of the chemical and structural interactions governing the storage and release of hydrogen/methane and carbon capture in a wide spectrum of candidate materials. We studied the effect of scaffolding and doping of the candidate materials on their storage and dynamics properties. We reviewed current progress, challenges and prospect in closely related fields of hydrogen/methane storage and carbon capture.[1-5] For example, for physisorption based storage materials, we show that tap-densities or simply pressing MOFs into pellet forms reduce the uptake capacities by half and therefore packing MOFs is one of the most important challenges going forward. For room temperature hydrogen storage application of MOFs, we argue that MOFs are the most promising scaffold materials for Ammonia-Borane (AB) because of their unique interior active metal-centers for AB binding and well

Towards the methane society? Use of hydrogen for upgrading biogas and synthetic methane production. Phase 1. Final report; Pae vej mod metansamfundet? - anvendelse af brint til opgradering af biogas og kunstig metanfremstilling. Fase 1. Slutrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mortensen, Claus [Agro Business Park, Tjele (Denmark)

2012-11-15

Biogas consists of methane (CH4) and CO{sub 2}. If you react hydrogen produced with wind power with CO{sub 2} in sulfur purified biogas you get biogas upgraded to pure methane, ie. to natural gas quality. The pure methane can for example be sold via the natural gas grid or pressurized and sold for transport. The purpose of the present project is to contribute to the development of a concept and a technology that can store wind energy into the existing natural gas network through the upgrading of CO{sub 2} in biogas. Overall the project combines the technique and concept of electrolysis, biogas upgrading and natural gas network, so that: - electrolysis creates hydrogen and heat from wind turbines; - CO{sub 2} in biogas reacts with H2 from the electrolysis and produces CH4 and high-value steam by biogas reacting directly with H2 in a catalyst ; - The natural gas network is used as distribution and storage of the produced methane. The following main results are achieved in the first phase: - Design and construction of a pilot plant for the purification of biogas, which allows a Sabatier reaction later in the methanization process; - Sensitivity analyses have been carried out of methane prices, which have proven to be competitive compared to other upgrading technologies in the market; - A business plan is developed for a demonstration plant, which among other things will be used in phase 2: demonstration plant. The competitor analysis shows, among other things, a higher efficiency rate of the Danish technology than on the methanization plants being developed in Germany. (LN)

Estimation of the molecular hydrogen soil uptake and traffic emissions at a suburban site near Paris through hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and radon-222 semicontinuous measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yver, C.; Schmidt, M.; Bousquet, P.; Ramonet, M.; Bousquet, P.; Zahorowski, W.

2009-01-01

Since June 2006, simultaneous semicontinuous measurements of tropospheric molecular hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and radon-222 ( 222 Rn) have been performed at Gif-sur-Yvette (Paris region), a suburban atmospheric measurement site in France. Molecular hydrogen mixing ratios range from 500 to 1000 ppb, CO mixing ratios vary from 100 to 1400 ppb, and 222 Rn concentrations fluctuate from 0 to 20 Bq m -3 . The H 2 seasonal cycle shows the expected pattern for the Northern Hemisphere with a maximum in spring and a minimum in autumn. We inferred a mean baseline value of 533 ppb with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 30 ppb. Carbon monoxide exhibits a seasonal cycle with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer. The mean baseline value reaches 132 ppb with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 40 ppb. Radon-222 presents weak seasonal variations with a maximum in autumn/winter and a minimum in spring/summer. The diurnal cycles of H 2 and CO are dominated by emissions from nearby traffic with two peaks during morning and evening rush hours. The typical H 2 /CO emission ratio from traffic is found to be 0.47 ± 0.08 on a molar basis (ppb/ppb). The radon tracer method is applied to nighttime H 2 observations to estimate the H 2 soil uptake of the nocturnal catchment area of our sampling site. The influences from nocturnal local anthropogenic combustion sources are estimated by parallel measurements of CO at 0.14 * 10 -5 g(H 2 ) m -2 h -1 . The mean inferred dry deposition velocity is 0.024 ± 0.013 cm s -1 with a seasonal amplitude of 40% at Gif-sur-Yvette.

Comparison of Nonprecious Metal Cathode Materials for Methane Production by Electromethanogenesis.

KAUST Repository

Siegert, Michael

2014-02-18

In methanogenic microbial electrolysis cells (MMCs), CO2 is reduced to methane using a methanogenic biofilm on the cathode by either direct electron transfer or evolved hydrogen. To optimize methane generation, we examined several cathode materials: plain graphite blocks, graphite blocks coated with carbon black or carbon black containing metals (platinum, stainless steel or nickel) or insoluble minerals (ferrihydrite, magnetite, iron sulfide, or molybdenum disulfide), and carbon fiber brushes. Assuming a stoichiometric ratio of hydrogen (abiotic):methane (biotic) of 4:1, methane production with platinum could be explained solely by hydrogen production. For most other materials, however, abiotic hydrogen production rates were insufficient to explain methane production. At -600 mV, platinum on carbon black had the highest abiotic hydrogen gas formation rate (1600 ± 200 nmol cm(-3) d(-1)) and the highest biotic methane production rate (250 ± 90 nmol cm(-3) d(-1)). At -550 mV, plain graphite (76 nmol cm(-3) d(-1)) performed similarly to platinum (73 nmol cm(-3) d(-1)). Coulombic recoveries, based on the measured current and evolved gas, were initially greater than 100% for all materials except platinum, suggesting that cathodic corrosion also contributed to electromethanogenic gas production.

Process for the manufacture of a gas largely free of inert gases for synthesis. Verfahren zur Herstellung eines weitgehend inertfreien Gases zur Synthese

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisenlohr, K H; Gaensslen, H; Kriebel, M; Tanz, H

1983-11-10

In a process for producing a gas largely free of inert gases for the synthesis of alcohols, particularly methanol, and of hydrocarbons from coal or heavy hydrocarbons by gasification under pressure with oxygen and steam, the crude gas is cooled, the impurities are removed by washing with methanol and the methanol is removed from the cold pure gas by molecular sieves. The pure gas is then cooled further by evaporation and methane is distilled from the liquid part while simultaneously obtaining the synthetic gas consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which is largely free of methane. The methane is wholly or partly compressed and then split into carbon monoxide and hydrogen using steam and oxygen. The split gas is fed back and mixed with the synthesis gas or the partly cleaned crude gas. The synthesis gas heated to the ambient temperature, freed of impurities and free of methane is compressed to the required synthesis pressure.

Process, including membrane separation, for separating hydrogen from hydrocarbons

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Richard W.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; He, Zhenjie; Pinnau, Ingo

2001-01-01

Processes for providing improved methane removal and hydrogen reuse in reactors, particularly in refineries and petrochemical plants. The improved methane removal is achieved by selective purging, by passing gases in the reactor recycle loop across membranes selective in favor of methane over hydrogen, and capable of exhibiting a methane/hydrogen selectivity of at least about 2.5 under the process conditions.

Storage of hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide in highly porous covalent organic frameworks for clean energy applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Furukawa, Hiroyasu; Yaghi, Omar M

2009-07-01

Dihydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide isotherm measurements were performed at 1-85 bar and 77-298 K on the evacuated forms of seven porous covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The uptake behavior and capacity of the COFs is best described by classifying them into three groups based on their structural dimensions and corresponding pore sizes. Group 1 consists of 2D structures with 1D small pores (9 A for each of COF-1 and COF-6), group 2 includes 2D structures with large 1D pores (27, 16, and 32 A for COF-5, COF-8, and COF-10, respectively), and group 3 is comprised of 3D structures with 3D medium-sized pores (12 A for each of COF-102 and COF-103). Group 3 COFs outperform group 1 and 2 COFs, and rival the best metal-organic frameworks and other porous materials in their uptake capacities. This is exemplified by the excess gas uptake of COF-102 at 35 bar (72 mg g(-1) at 77 K for hydrogen, 187 mg g(-1) at 298 K for methane, and 1180 mg g(-1) at 298 K for carbon dioxide), which is similar to the performance of COF-103 but higher than those observed for COF-1, COF-5, COF-6, COF-8, and COF-10 (hydrogen at 77 K, 15 mg g(-1) for COF-1, 36 mg g(-1) for COF-5, 23 mg g(-1) for COF-6, 35 mg g(-1) for COF-8, and 39 mg g(-1) for COF-10; methane at 298 K, 40 mg g(-1) for COF-1, 89 mg g(-1) for COF-5, 65 mg g(-1) for COF-6, 87 mg g(-1) for COF-8, and 80 mg g(-1) for COF-10; carbon dioxide at 298 K, 210 mg g(-1) for COF-1, 779 mg g(-1) for COF-5, 298 mg g(-1) for COF-6, 598 mg g(-1) for COF-8, and 759 mg g(-1) for COF-10). These findings place COFs among the most porous and the best adsorbents for hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide.

Co-production of hydrogen and methane from herbal medicine wastewater by a combined UASB system with immobilized sludge (H2 production) and UASB system with suspended sludge (CH4 production).

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Caiyu; Hao, Ping; Qin, Bida; Wang, Bing; Di, Xueying; Li, Yongfeng

2016-01-01

An upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) system with sludge immobilized on granular activated carbon was developed for fermentative hydrogen production continuously from herbal medicine wastewater at various organic loading rates (8-40 g chemical oxygen demand (COD) L(-1) d(-1)). The maximum hydrogen production rate reached 10.0 (±0.17) mmol L(-1) hr(-1) at organic loading rate of 24 g COD L(-1) d(-1), which was 19.9% higher than that of suspended sludge system. The effluents of hydrogen fermentation were used for continuous methane production in the subsequent UASB system. At hydraulic retention time of 15 h, the maximum methane production rate of 5.49 (±0.03) mmol L(-1) hr(-1) was obtained. The total energy recovery rate by co-production of hydrogen and methane was evaluated to be 7.26 kJ L(-1) hr(-1).

Chemical Looping Combustion of Hematite Ore with Methane and Steam in a Fluidized Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Bayham

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Chemical looping combustion is considered an indirect method of oxidizing a carbonaceous fuel, utilizing a metal oxide oxygen carrier to provide oxygen to the fuel. The advantage is the significantly reduced energy penalty for separating out the CO2 for reuse or sequestration in a carbon-constrained world. One of the major issues with chemical looping combustion is the cost of the oxygen carrier. Hematite ore is a proposed oxygen carrier due to its high strength and resistance to mechanical attrition, but its reactivity is rather poor compared to tailored oxygen carriers. This problem is further exacerbated by methane cracking, the subsequent deposition of carbon and the inability to transfer oxygen at a sufficient rate from the core of the particle to the surface for fuel conversion to CO2. Oxygen needs to be readily available at the surface to prevent methane cracking. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate the use of steam to overcome this issue and improve the conversion of the natural gas to CO2, as well as to provide data for computational fluid dynamics (CFD validation. The steam will gasify the deposited carbon to promote the methane conversion. This work studies the performance of hematite ore with methane and steam mixtures in a 5 cm fluidized bed up to approximately 140 kPa. Results show an increased conversion of methane in the presence of steam (from 20–45% without steam to 60–95% up to a certain point, where performance decreases. Adding steam allows the methane conversion to carbon dioxide to be similar to the overall methane conversion; it also helped to prevent carbon accumulation from occurring on the particle. In general, the addition of steam to the feed gas increased the methane conversion. Furthermore, the addition of steam caused the steam methane reforming reaction to form more hydrogen and carbon monoxide at higher steam and methane concentrations, which was not completely converted at higher concentrations and

Effect of hydrogen addition on burning rate and surface density of turbulent lean premixed methane-air flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, H.; Tayebi, B.; Galizzi, C.; Escudie, D.

2009-01-01

Hydrogen (H 2 ) is a clean burning component, but relatively expensive. Mixing a small amount of hydrogen with other fuels is an effective way to use H 2 . H 2 enriched combustion significantly improves fuel efficiency and reduces pollutant (nitrogen oxide and particulate matter) emissions. This presentation discussed the effect of hydrogen addition on burning rate and surface density of turbulent lean premixed methane-air flames. The presentation discussed flame configuration; the experimental methodology using laser tomography; and results for typical images, burning velocity, ratio of turbulent to laminar burning velocities, flame surface density, curvature, flame brush thickness, and integrated flame surface area. It was concluded that the increase of turbulent burning velocity was faster than that of laminar burning velocity, which contradicted traditional theory. figs.

A comprehensive energy–exergy-based assessment and parametric study of a hydrogen production process using steam glycerol reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajjaji, Noureddine; Chahbani, Amna; Khila, Zouhour

2014-01-01

Various assessment tools are applied to comprehensively investigate a glycerol-to-hydrogen production system. These tools investigate the chemical reactions, design and simulate the entire hydrogen production process, study the energetic and exergetic performances and perform parametric analyses (using intuitive and design of experiment-based methods). Investigating the chemical reaction of steam glycerol reforming reveals that the optimal conditions, determined based on maximizing the hydrogen production while minimizing the methane and carbon monoxide contents and coke formation, can be achieved at a reforming temperature and a water-to-glycerol feed ratio (WGFR) of 950 K and 9, respectively. The thermal and exergetic efficiencies of the resulting process are 66.6% and 59.9%, respectively. These findings are lower than those cited in the literature and relative to other reformates (methane, ethanol and methanol). The parametric investigation indicates that the performance of the process (energetic and exergetic) could be ensured by using an appropriate and judiciously selected combination of the reactor temperature and WGFR. Based on the parametric energetic and exergetic investigation, WGFR = 6 and T = 1100 K appear to be the most accurate parameters for the entire glycerol-to-hydrogen process. For this recommend configuration, the thermal and exergetic efficiencies are 78.1% and 66.1%, respectively. - Highlights: • Energy and exergy analysis are used to assess glycerol-to-hydrogen process. • Recommended conditions for glycerol-to-hydrogen process are WGFR = 6 and T = 1100 K. • For recommend conditions, thermal and exergetic efficiencies are 78.1% and 66.1%. • Energy and exergy consideration should be included by engineers and scientists

Structural changes of noble metal catalysts during ignition and extinction of the partial oxidation of methane studied by advanced QEXAFS techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunwaldt, Jan-Dierk; Beier, M.; Kimmerle, B.

2009-01-01

The dynamics of the ignition and extinction of the catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of methane to hydrogen and carbon monoxide over Pt-Rh/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3 were studied in the subsecond timescale using quick-EXAFS with a novel cam-driven X-ray monochromator employing Si(111) and Si(311) crystals...... to discuss the potential and limitation of this technique in catalysis and related areas. With respect to the noble metal catalysed partial oxidation of methane, several interesting observations were made: structural changes during ignition were-independent of the chosen reaction conditions......-significantly faster than during the extinction of the reaction. The dynamic behavior of the catalysts was dependent on the flow conditions and the respective noble metal component(s). Higher reaction gas flow led to a faster ignition process. While the ignition over Pt-Rh/Al2O3 occurred at lower temperature than over...

Methane: Fuel or Exhaust at the Emergence of Life?

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Michael J; Nitschke, Wolfgang

2017-10-01

As many of the methanogens first encountered at hydrothermal vents were thermophilic to hyperthermophilic and comprised one of the lower roots of the evolutionary tree, it has been assumed that methanogenesis was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, pathway to life. It being well known that hydrothermal springs associated with serpentinization also bore abiotic methane, it had been further assumed that emergent biochemistry merely adopted and quickened this supposed serpentinization reaction. Yet, recent hydrothermal experiments simulating serpentinization have failed to generate methane so far, thus casting doubt on this assumption. The idea that the inverse view is worthy of debate, that is, that methanotrophy was the earlier, is stymied by the "fact" that methanotrophy itself has been termed "reverse methanogenesis," so allotting the methanogens the founding pedigree. Thus, attempting to suggest instead that methanogenesis might be termed reverse methanotrophy would require "unlearning"-a challenge to the subconscious! Here we re-examine the "impossibility" of methanotrophy predating methanogenesis as in what we have termed the "denitrifying methanotrophic acetogenic pathway." Advantages offered by such thinking are that methane would not only be a fuel but also a ready source of reduced carbon to combine with formate or carbon monoxide-available in hydrothermal fluids-to generate acetate, a target molecule of the first autotrophs. And the nitrate/nitrite required for the putative oxidation of methane with activated NO would also be a ready source of fixed nitrogen for amination reactions. Theoretical conditions for such a putative pathway would be met in a hydrothermal green rust-bearing exhalative pile and associated chimneys subject to proton and electron counter gradients. This hypothesis could be put to test in a high-pressure hydrothermal reaction chamber in which a cool carbonate/nitrate/nitrite-bearing early acidulous ocean simulant is juxtaposed

Iron ore catalysts for methane decomposition to make CO x free hydrogen and carbon nano material

KAUST Repository

Zhou, Lu

2018-03-27

In this work, for the first time, iron ores with 91.7%–96.2% FeO, 1.3%–2.3% AlO, 1.2%–4.5% SiO, 1.3%–3.9% NaO, were studied directly as bulk catalysts for methane decomposition. By hydrogen pre-reduction at 850 °C, FeO species on iron ores were gradually reduced into FeO, FeO and then finally into Fe species. After reduction of 1.6 g of iron ore catalysts of 50 µm particle size with 100 mL/min pure H for 3.5 h at 850 °C, CMD life testing was conducted at 850 °C and GHSV of 3.75 L/g h and the catalyst showed a stable methane conversion for 5 h. When methane decomposition proceeded on Fe sites, FeC species would be formed to deposit graphite around themselves to finally form carbon nano onions. This carbon nano onions material showed excellent application for wastewater purification. All samples were fully characterized with XRF, XRD, H-TPR, TEM and Raman.

Shape and structural motifs control of MgTi bimetallic nanoparticles using hydrogen and methane as trace impurities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krishnan, Gopi; de Graaf, Sytze; ten Brink, Gert H.; Verheijen, Marcel A.; Kooi, Bart J.; Palasantzas, George

2018-01-01

In this work we report the influence of methane/hydrogen on the nucleation and formation of MgTi bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by gas phase synthesis. We show that a diverse variety of structural motifs can be obtained from MgTi alloy, TiCx/Mg/MgO, TiCx/MgO and TiHx/MgO core/shell NPs via

Tobacco and chemicals (image)

Science.gov (United States)

Some of the chemicals associated with tobacco smoke include ammonia, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, propane, methane, acetone, hydrogen cyanide and various carcinogens. Other chemicals that are associated with chewing ...

Removal of methane from compressed natural gas fueled vehicle exhaust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subramanian, S.; Kudla, R.J.; Chattha, M.S.

1992-01-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate the modes of methane (CH 4 ) removal from simulated compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled vehicle exhaust under net oxidizing, net reducing, and stoichiometric conditions. Model reaction studies were conducted. The results suggest that the oxidation of methane with oxygen contributes to the removal of methane under net oxidizing conditions. In contrast, the oxidation of methane with oxygen as well as nitric oxide contributes to its removal under net reducing conditions. The steam reforming reaction does not significantly contribute to the removal of methane. The methane conversions under net reducing conditions are higher than those observed under net oxidizing conditions. The study shows that the presence of carbon monoxide in the feed gas leads to a gradual decrease in the methane conversion with increasing redox ratio, under net oxidizing conditions. a minimum in methane conversion is observed at a redox ratio of 0. 8. The higher activity for the methane-oxygen reaction resulting from a lowering in the overall oxidation state of palladium and the contribution of the methane-nitric oxide reaction toward the removal of CH 4 appear to account for the higher CH 4 conversions observed under net reducing conditions

The effect of moderators on the reactions of hot hydrogen atoms with methane

CERN Document Server

Estrup, Peder J.

1960-01-01

The reaction of recoil tritium with methane has been examined in further detail. The previous hypothesis that this system involves a hot displacement reaction of high kinetic energy hydrogen to give CH$_{3}$T, CH$_{2}$T and HT is confirmed. The effect of moderator on this process is studied by the addition of noble gases. As predicted these gases inhibit the hot reaction action, their efficiency in this respect being He > Ne > A > Se. The data are quantitatively in accord with a theory of hot atom kinetics. The mechanism of the hot displacement process is briefly discussed.

Implications of Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 Methane Emissions to Stabilize Radiative Forcing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emanuel, William R.; Janetos, Anthony C.

2013-02-01

Increases in the abundance of methane (CH4) in the Earth’s atmosphere are responsible for significant radiative forcing of climate change (Forster et al., 2007; Wuebbles and Hayhoe, 2002). Since 1750, a 2.5 fold increase in atmospheric CH4 contributed 0.5 W/m2 to direct radiative forcing and an additional 0.2 W/m2 indirectly through changes in atmospheric chemistry. Next to water and carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the troposphere. Additionally, CH4 is significantly more effective as a greenhouse gas on a per molecule basis than is CO2, and increasing atmospheric CH4 has been second only to CO2 in radiative forcing (Forster et al., 2007). The chemical reactivity of CH4 is important to both tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Along with carbon monoxide, methane helps control the amount of the hydroxyl radical (OH) in the troposphere where oxidation of CH4 by OH leads to the formation of formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and ozone.

The Range of 1-3 keV Electrons in Solid Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oehlenschlæger, M.; Andersen, H.H.; Schou, Jørgen

1985-01-01

The range of 1-3 keV electrons in films of solid oxygen and carbon monoxide has been measured by a mirror substrate method. The technique used here is identical to the one previously used for range measurements in solid hydrogen and nitrogen. The range in oxygen is slightly shorter than that in n......The range of 1-3 keV electrons in films of solid oxygen and carbon monoxide has been measured by a mirror substrate method. The technique used here is identical to the one previously used for range measurements in solid hydrogen and nitrogen. The range in oxygen is slightly shorter than...

Pre elementary design of primary reformer for hydrogen plant coupled with HTGR type NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dedy Priambodo; Erlan Dewita; Sudi Ariyanto

2012-01-01

Hydrogen has a high potent for new energy, because of it availability. Steam reforming is a fully developed commercial technology and is the most economical method for production of hydrogen. Steam reforming uses an external source of hot gas to heat tubes in which a catalytic reaction takes place that converts steam and lighter hydrocarbons such as natural gas (methane) or refinery feedstock into hydrogen and carbon monoxide (syngas) at high temperature on primary reformer (800-900°C). Utilization of helium from HTGR as heating medium for primary reformer has consequence to type and shape of its reactor. The main goal of this paper is to determine type/shape and pre elementary design of chemical reactor for the cogeneration system of Hydrogen Plant and HTGR The primary reformer for this system is Fixed Bed Multitube reactor with specification tube: NPS 3,5 Sch 40 ST 40S, 0.281 in thickness, number of tube 849 pieces and ASTM HH 30 for tube material. Tube arrangement is 'triangular pitch' on shell Split-Ring Floating Head from Steel Alloy SA 301 Grade B equipted with 8 baffles. (author)

Methane Post-Processing for Oxygen Loop Closure

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Zachary W.; Abney, Morgan B.; Miller, Lee

2016-01-01

State-of-the-art United States Atmospheric Revitalization carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is based on the Sabatier reaction process, which recovers approximately 50% of the oxygen (O2) from crew metabolic CO2. Oxygen recovery from carbon dioxide is constrained by the limited availability of reactant hydrogen. Post-processing of methane to recover hydrogen with the Umpqua Research Company Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) has the potential to further close the Atmospheric Revitalization oxygen loop. The PPA decomposes methane into hydrogen and hydrocarbons, predominantly acetylene, and a small amount of solid carbon. The hydrogen must then be purified before it can be recycled for additional oxygen recovery. Long duration testing and evaluation of a four crew-member sized PPA and a discussion of hydrogen recycling system architectures are presented.

Radiation induced chemical reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Shun-ichi; Nishii, Masanobu

1985-01-01

Previous studies of radiation induced chemical reactions of CO-H 2 mixture have revealed that the yields of oxygen containing products were larger than those of hydrocarbons. In the present study, methane was added to CO-H 2 mixture in order to increase further the yields of the oxygen containing products. The yields of most products except a few products such as formaldehyde increased with the addition of small amount of methane. Especially, the yields of trioxane and tetraoxane gave the maximum values when CO-H 2 mixture containing 1 mol% methane was irradiated. When large amounts of methane were added to the mixture, the yields of aldehydes and carboxylic acids having more than two carbon atoms increased, whereas those of trioxane and tetraoxane decreased. From the study at reaction temperature over the range of 200 to 473 K, it was found that the yields of aldehydes and carboxylic acids showed maxima at 323 K. The studies on the effects of addition of cationic scavenger (NH 3 ) and radical scavenger (O 2 ) on the products yields were also carried out on the CO-H 2 -CH 4 mixture. (author)

Effect of oxygen and hydrogen on microstructure of pyrolytic carbon deposited from thermal decomposition of methane and ethanol

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Biyun; Zhang, Shouyang; He, LiQun; Gu, Shengyue

2018-05-01

Chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) is the most extensive industrial preparation of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. Precursor affects the CVI process considerably. In the present study, using carbon fiber bundles as preforms, methane and ethanol as precursors, the C/C composites were densified by decomposition of various gases in CVI. The thickness and texture of deposited pyrolytic carbon (PyC) were characterized by polarized light microscopy (PLM). The microstructure of PyC was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The morphologies of PyC were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition of PyC was detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Adding hydrogen in methane precursor resulted in a sharp decrease in the deposition rate and texture of PyC. Mixture of methane and ethanol as the precursor improved the deposition rate and texture remarkably. Besides, O element in ethanol was not remained as a constitution of PyC, and it was removed before the formation of PyC.

Photocatalytic conversion of methane to methanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, C.E.; Noceti, R.P.; D`Este, J.R. [Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, PA (United States)

1995-12-31

A long-term goal of our research group is the exploration of novel pathways for the direct oxidation of methane to liquid fuels, chemicals, and intermediates. The use of three relatively abundant and inexpensive reactants, light, water, and methane, to produce methanol is attractive. The products of reaction, methanol and hydrogen, are both commercially desirable, methanol being used as is or converted to a variety of other chemicals, and the hydrogen could be utilized in petroleum and/or chemical manufacturing. Methane is produced as a by-product of coal gasification. Depending upon reactor design and operating conditions, up to 18% of total gasifier product may be methane. In addition, there are vast proven reserves of geologic methane in the world. Unfortunately, a large fraction of these reserves are in regions where there is little local demand for methane and it is not economically feasible to transport it to a market. There is a global research effort under way in academia, industry, and government to find methods to convert methane to useful, more readily transportable and storable materials. Methanol, the initial product of methane oxidation, is a desirable product of conversion because it retains much of the original energy of the methane while satisfying transportation and storage requirements. Investigation of direct conversion of methane to transportation fuels has been an ongoing effort at PETC for over 10 years. One of the current areas of research is the conversion of methane to methanol, under mild conditions, using light, water, and a semiconductor photocatalyst. The use of three relatively abundant and inexpensive reactants, light, water, and methane, to produce methanol, is attractive. Research in the laboratory is directed toward applying the techniques developed for the photocatalytic splitting of the water and the photochemical conversion of methane.

Supercritical water gasification of landfill leachate for hydrogen production in the presence and absence of alkali catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Weijin, Gong; Binbin, Li; Qingyu, Wang; Zuohua, Huang; Liang, Zhao

2018-03-01

Gasification of landfill leachate in supercritical water using batch-type reactor is investigated. Alkali such as NaOH, KOH, K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 is used as catalyst. The effect of temperature (380-500 °C), retention time (5-25 min), landfill leachate concentration (1595 mg L -1 -15,225 mg L -1 ), catalyst adding amount (1-10 wt%) on hydrogen mole fraction, hydrogen yield, carbon gasification rate, COD, TOC, TN removal efficiency are investigated. The results showed that gaseous products mainly contained hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide without addition of catalyst. However, the main gaseous products are hydrogen and methane with addition of NaOH, KOH, K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 . In the absence of alkali catalyst, the effect of temperature on landfill leachate gasification is positive. Hydrogen mole fraction, hydrogen yield, carbon gasification ratio increase with temperature, which maximum value being 55.6%, 107.15 mol kg -1 , 71.96% is obtained at 500 °C, respectively. Higher raw landfill leachate concentration leads to lower hydrogen production and carbon gasification rate. The suitable retention time is suggested to be 15 min for higher hydrogen production and carbon gasification rate. COD, TOC and TN removal efficiency also increase with increase of temperature, decrease of landfill leachate concentration. In the presence of catalyst, the hydrogen production is obviously promoted by addition of alkali catalyst. the effect of catalysts on hydrogen production is in the following order: NaOH ＞ KOH ＞ Na 2 CO 3  ＞ K 2 CO 3 . The maximum hydrogen mole fraction and hydrogen yield being 74.40%, 70.05 mol kg -1 is obtained with adding amount of 5 wt% NaOH at 450 °C, 28 MPa, 15 min. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of catalytic cylinders on autothermal reforming of methane for hydrogen production in a microchamber reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yunfei; Guo, Hongliang; Zhang, Li; Zhu, Junchen; Yang, Zhongqing; Tang, Qiang; Ji, Xin

2014-01-01

A new multicylinder microchamber reactor is designed on autothermal reforming of methane for hydrogen production, and its performance and thermal behavior, that is, based on the reaction mechanism, is numerically investigated by varying the cylinder radius, cylinder spacing, and cylinder layout. The results show that larger cylinder radius can promote reforming reaction; the mass fraction of methane decreased from 26% to 21% with cylinder radius from 0.25 mm to 0.75 mm; compact cylinder spacing corresponds to more catalytic surface and the time to steady state is decreased from 40 s to 20 s; alteration of staggered and aligned cylinder layout at constant inlet flow rates does not result in significant difference in reactor performance and it can be neglected. The results provide an indication and optimize performance of reactor; it achieves higher conversion compared with other reforming reactors.

Reactive ion etching of tellurite and chalcogenide waveguides using hydrogen, methane, and argon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vu, K. T.; Madden, S. J.

2011-01-01

The authors report in detail on the reactive plasma etching properties of tellurium and demonstrate a high quality etching process using hydrogen, methane, and argon. Very low loss planar ridge waveguides are demonstrated. Optical losses in tellurium dioxide waveguides below 0.1 dB/cm in most of the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and at 1550 nm have been achieved--the lowest ever reported by more than an order of magnitude and clearly suitable for planar integrated devices. The etch process is also shown to be suitable for chalcogenide glasses which may be of importance in applications such as phase change memory devices and nonlinear integrated optics.

How to optimize hydrogen plant designs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

van Weenen, W F; Tielrooy, J

1983-01-01

In a typical hydrogen plant of the type which will be discussed, methane or higher hydrocarbons are reformed with steam in a steam hydrocarbon reformer operating at a pressure of 250 to 400 psig, a temperature of 1500 to 1600/sup 0/F, and with a ratio of steam to carbon in the feed of about 3.0. Following the reformer and cooling, there is a single stage of high temperature carbon monoxide shift conversion. Optionally, after further cooling, this may be followed by a second stage of carbon monoxide shift conversion operating at a lower temperature to obtain a more favourable equilibrium; this is called low temperature shift conversion. After cooling to ambient temperature, and separation of the condensate, the gas is passed through a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)l unit which removes all the impurities along with a small amount of hydrogen. The waste gas from the PSA unit containing all the impurities is used as fuel to the reformer. Heat is recovered from the reformer flue gas, reformer product, high temperature shift converter product and low temperature shift converter product. This paper discusses some of the process variables and design variables which must be considered in arriving at an optimized design. Seven different flow schemes are discussed in the light of the objectives they are designed for. The seven schemes and their objectives are: Flow Scheme 1 - lowest first cost; moderate efficiency, Flow Scheme 2 - high efficiency, low cost; Flow Scheme 3 - low feed plus fuel, moderately high efficiency; Flow Scheme 4 - lowest feed plus fuel; Flow Scheme 5 - lowest feed, low fuel; Flow Scheme 6 -lowest feed, highest efficiency; and Flow Scheme 7 - lowest feed plus fuel, export electric power instead of export electric power instead of export steam. 15 figures, 1 table.

Production of hydrogen from organic waste via hydrogen sulfide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMahon, M.; Davis, B.R.; Roy, A.; Daugulis, A.

2007-01-01

In this paper an integrated process is proposed that converts organic waste to hydrogen via hydrogen sulphide. The designed bioreactor has achieved high volumetric productivities comparable to methanogenic bioreactors. Proposed process has advantages of bio-methane production and is more resilient to process upset. Thermochemical conversion of hydrogen sulphide to hydrogen is exothermic and also requires smaller plant infrastructure

Production of CO-rich Hydrogen Gas from Methane Dry Reforming over Co/CeO2 Catalyst

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bamidele V. Ayodele

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Production of CO-rich hydrogen gas from methane dry reforming was investigated over CeO2-supported Co catalyst. The catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation and subsequently characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDX, liquid N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA for the structure, surface and thermal properties. The catalytic activity test of the Co/CeO2 was investigated between 923-1023 K under reaction conditions in a stainless steel fixed bed reactor. The composition of the products (CO2 and H2 from the methane dry reforming reaction was measured by gas chromatography (GC coupled with thermal conductivity detector (TCD. The effects of feed ratios and reaction temperatures were investigated on the catalytic activity toward product selectivity, yield, and syngas ratio. Significantly, the selectivity and yield of both H2 and CO increases with feed ratio and temperature. However, the catalyst shows higher activity towards CO selectivity. The highest H2 and CO selectivity of 19.56% and 20.95% respectively were obtained at 1023 K while the highest yield of 41.98% and 38.05% were recorded for H2 and CO under the same condition. Copyright © 2016 BCREC GROUP. All rights reserved Received: 21st January 2016; Revised: 23rd February 2016; Accepted: 23rd February 2016 How to Cite: Ayodele, B.V., Khan, M.R., Cheng, C. K. (2016. Production of CO-rich Hydrogen Gas from Methane Dry Reforming over Co/CeO2 Catalyst. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 11 (2: 210-219 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.11.2.552.210-219 Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.11.2.552.210-219

Microbial methane from in situ biodegradation of coal and shale: A review and reevaluation of hydrogen and carbon isotope signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Vinson, David S.; Blair, Neal E.; Martini, Anna M.; Larter, Steve; Orem, William H.; McIntosh, Jennifer C.

2017-01-01

Stable carbon and hydrogen isotope signatures of methane, water, and inorganic carbon are widely utilized in natural gas systems for distinguishing microbial and thermogenic methane and for delineating methanogenic pathways (acetoclastic, hydrogenotrophic, and/or methylotrophic methanogenesis). Recent studies of coal and shale gas systems have characterized in situ microbial communities and provided stable isotope data (δD-CH4, δD-H2O, δ13C-CH4, and δ13C-CO2) from a wider range of environments than available previously. Here we review the principal biogenic methane-yielding pathways in coal beds and shales and the isotope effects imparted on methane, document the uncertainties and inconsistencies in established isotopic fingerprinting techniques, and identify the knowledge gaps in understanding the subsurface processes that govern H and C isotope signatures of biogenic methane. We also compare established isotopic interpretations with recent microbial community characterization techniques, which reveal additional inconsistencies in the interpretation of microbial metabolic pathways in coal beds and shales. Collectively, the re-assessed data show that widely-utilized isotopic fingerprinting techniques neglect important complications in coal beds and shales.Isotopic fingerprinting techniques that combine δ13C-CH4 with δD-CH4 and/or δ13C-CO2have significant limitations: (1) The consistent ~ 160‰ offset between δD-H2O and δD-CH4 could imply that hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis is the dominant metabolic pathway in microbial gas systems. However, hydrogen isotopes can equilibrate between methane precursors and coexisting water, yielding a similar apparent H isotope signal as hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, regardless of the actual methane formation pathway. (2) Non-methanogenic processes such as sulfate reduction, Fe oxide reduction, inputs of thermogenic methane, anaerobic methane oxidation, and/or formation water interaction can cause the apparent carbon

Structural and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures grown by aerosol spray pyrolysis: candidates for room temperature methane and hydrogen gas sensing

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Motaung, DE

2013-08-01

Full Text Available O crystallite size and crystallinity on the gassensing performance of hydrogen and methane gases was also evaluated. Sensing film based on ZnOnanoparticles has numerous advantages in terms of its reliability and high sensitivity. These sensingmaterials revealed...

Molecular dynamics study of methane hydrate formation at a water/methane interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Junfang; Hawtin, R W; Yang, Ye; Nakagava, Edson; Rivero, M; Choi, S K; Rodger, P M

2008-08-28

We present molecular dynamics simulation results of a liquid water/methane interface, with and without an oligomer of poly(methylaminoethylmethacrylate), PMAEMA. PMAEMA is an active component of a commercial low dosage hydrate inhibitor (LDHI). Simulations were performed in the constant NPT ensemble at temperatures of 220, 235, 240, 245, and 250 K and a pressure of 300 bar. The simulations show the onset of methane hydrate growth within 30 ns for temperatures below 245 K in the methane/water systems; at 240 K there is an induction period of ca. 20 ns, but at lower temperatures growth commences immediately. The simulations were analyzed to calculate hydrate content, the propensity for hydrogen bond formation, and how these were affected by both temperature and the presence of the LDHI. As expected, both the hydrogen bond number and hydrate content decreased with increasing temperature, though little difference was observed between the lowest two temperatures considered. In the presence of PMAEMA, the temperature below which sustained hydrate growth occurred was observed to decrease. Some of the implications for the role of PMAEMA in LDHIs are discussed.

Ni/Ce-MCM-41 mesostructured catalysts for simultaneous production of hydrogen and nanocarbon via methane decomposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guevara, J.C.; Wang, J.A.; Chen, L.F.; Valenzuela, M.A. [ESIQIE, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Col. Zacatenco, Av. Politecnico s/n, 07738 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Salas, P. [Centro de Fisica Aplicada y Tecnologia Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 1-1010, Queretaro 76000 (Mexico); Garcia-Ruiz, A. [UPIICSA, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Te 950 Col. Granjas-Mexico, 08400 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Toledo, J.A.; Cortes-Jacome, M.A.; Angeles-Chavez, C. [Programa de Molecular Ingenieria, Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Eje Lazaro Cardenas 152, 07730 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Novaro, O. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, A. P. 20-364, 01000 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

2010-04-15

For the first time, simultaneous production of hydrogen and nanocarbon via catalytic decomposition of methane over Ni-loaded mesoporous Ce-MCM-41 catalysts was investigated. The catalytic performance of the Ni/Ce-MCM-41 catalysts is very stable and the reaction activity remained almost unchanged during 1400 min steam on time at temperatures 540, 560 and 580 C, respectively. The methane conversion level over these catalysts reached 60-75% with a 100% selectivity towards hydrogen. TEM observations revealed that most of the Ni particles located on the tip of the carbon nanofibers/nanotubes in the used catalysts, keeping their exposed surface clean during the test and thus remaining active for continuous reaction without obvious deactivation. Two kinds of carbon materials, graphitic carbon (C{sub g}) as major and amorphous carbon (C{sub A}) as minor were produced in the reaction, as confirmed by XRD analysis and TEM observations. Carbon nanofibers/nanotubes had an average diameter of approximately 30-50 nm and tens micrometers in length, depending on the reaction temperature, reaction time and Ni particle diameter. Four types of carbon nanofibers/nanotubes were detected and their formations greatly depend on the reaction temperature, time on steam and degree of the interaction between the metallic Ni and support. The respective mechanisms of the formation of nanocarbons were postulated and discussed. (author)

Renewable solar hydrogen production and utilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakos, J.

2006-01-01

There is a tremendous opportunity to generate large quantities of hydrogen from low grade and economical sources of methane including landfill gas, biogas, flare gas, and coal bed methane. The environmental benefits of generating hydrogen using renewable energy include significant greenhouse gas and air contaminant reductions. Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation (SHEC LABS) recently constructed and demonstrated a Dry Fuel Reforming (DFR) hydrogen generation system that is powered primarily by sunlight focusing-mirrors in Tempe, Arizona. The system comprises a solar mirror array, a temperature controlling shutter system, and two thermo-catalytic reactors to convert methane, carbon dioxide, and water into hydrogen. This process has shown that solar hydrogen generation is feasible and cost-competitive with traditional hydrogen production. The presentation will provide the following: An overview of the results of the testing conducted in Tempe, Arizona; A look at the design and installation of the scaled-up technology site at a landfill site in Canada; An examination of the economic and environmental benefits of renewable hydrogen production using solar energy

Improvement of performance and reduction of pollutant emissions of a four-stroke spark ignition engine fuelled with a mixture of hydrogen and methane as a supplementary fuel to alcohol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Bagdhadi, M.A.-R.S. [University of Babylon (Iraq). College of Engineering

2004-05-01

Owing to the energy crisis and pollution problems of today, investigations have concentrated on decreasing fuel consumption and on lowering the concentration of toxic components in combustion products by using non-petroleum, renewable, sustainable and non-polluting fuels. While conventional energy sources such as natural gas, oil and coal are non-renewable, hydrogen and alcohol can be coupled to renewable and sustainable energy sources. The usage of a mixture of hydrogen and methane as a supplementary fuel to an alcohol-air mixture for spark ignition engines results in a considerable improvement in engine performance and in the reduction of the toxic components in exhaust gases in comparison with the conventional spark ignition gasoline engine. In tests, the gas comprising 40 per cent H, and 60 per cent CH{sub 4} by volume was added to alcohol as 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 per cent by mass. Operating test results for a range of compression ratio (CR) and equivalent ratio are presented. Gasoline fuel was used as a basis for comparison. The important improvement in methane addition reduced the specific fuel consumption (s.f.c.) and CO emission of alcohol engines. The performance of the engine is enhanced when relatively small amounts of hydrogen are present with methane. This improvement in performance, which is especially pronounced at operational equivalence ratios that are much leaner than the stoichiometric value, can be attributed largely to the faster and cleaner burning characteristics of hydrogen in comparison with methane or alcohol. Moreover, the addition of hydrogen decreases the s.f.c. of the engine. The possibility of an engine power quality adjustment has also been studied. (author)

Effect of Catalytic Cylinders on Autothermal Reforming of Methane for Hydrogen Production in a Microchamber Reactor

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Yunfei Yan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A new multicylinder microchamber reactor is designed on autothermal reforming of methane for hydrogen production, and its performance and thermal behavior, that is, based on the reaction mechanism, is numerically investigated by varying the cylinder radius, cylinder spacing, and cylinder layout. The results show that larger cylinder radius can promote reforming reaction; the mass fraction of methane decreased from 26% to 21% with cylinder radius from 0.25 mm to 0.75 mm; compact cylinder spacing corresponds to more catalytic surface and the time to steady state is decreased from 40 s to 20 s; alteration of staggered and aligned cylinder layout at constant inlet flow rates does not result in significant difference in reactor performance and it can be neglected. The results provide an indication and optimize performance of reactor; it achieves higher conversion compared with other reforming reactors.

Is methane a new therapeutic gas?

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Liu Wenwu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Methane is an attractive fuel. Biologically, methanogens in the colon can use carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane as a by-product. It was previously considered that methane is not utilized by humans. However, in a recent study, results demonstrated that methane could exert anti-inflammatory effects in a dog small intestinal ischemia-reperfusion model. Point of view Actually, the bioactivity of methane has been investigated in gastrointestinal diseases, but the exact mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory effects is required to be further elucidated. Methane can cross the membrane and is easy to collect due to its abundance in natural gas. Although methane is flammable, saline rich in methane can be prepared for clinical use. These seem to be good news in application of methane as a therapeutic gas. Conclusion Several problems should be resolved before its wide application in clinical practice.

Tri-reforming and combined reforming of methane for producing syngas with desired hydrogen/carbon monoxide ratios

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Wei

This dissertation is an exploratory study of a new process concept for direct production of synthesis gas (CO + H2) with desired H 2/CO ratios (1.5--2.0) for methanol synthesis and F-T synthesis, using CO2 together with steam and unconverted O2 in flue gas from fossil fuel-fired electric power plants to react with methane or natural gas. This new process is called tri-reforming, referring to simultaneous CO2-steam-O2 reforming of methane or natural gas. This study included (1) The investigation of carbon formation in the tri-reforming process. For comparison, carbon formation in the combined reforming and CO2 reforming reaction was studied as well. (2) The effect of reaction conditions and feed compositions on equilibrium composition (e.g. H2/CO ratio) and equilibrium conversions in the tri-reforming process. (3) The role of catalysts in the tri-reforming process, especially the effect of catalysts on CO2 conversion in the presence of H 2O and O2. It was clearly evidenced from this study that CO in the product stream is probably the major source of carbon over Ni/Al2O3 in the equimolar CO2-CH4 reforming at 650°C and 1 atm. Addition of either O2 or H2O into the CO 2 reforming reaction system can suppress carbon formation. It was demonstrated that carbon-free operation can be achieved in the tri-reforming process. A thermodynamic comparison of tri-reforming with feed compositions of (H2O+CO2+0.5O2)/CH4 (mol ratio) = 1 showed that O2 improves equilibrium CH4 conversion, yet greatly decreases equilibrium CO2 conversion. H2O in tri-reforming has a significant effect on the H2/CO ratio in the products, while O2 has a minor effect. A kinetic study and catalytic performance tests indicated that the support in a supported catalyst has a significant role in enhancing CO2 conversion to CO in the presence of H2O and O2 in tri-reforming. The Ni/MgO catalyst showed superior performance with close to equilibrium CH4 and CO2 conversions at 850°C, 1 atm, and 32,000 ml

In-Situ Resource Utilization: Methane Fuel Production

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Sabatier reactors are being matured to produce methane from CO2 and hydrogen.  The hydrogen is derived from the electrolysis of soil-derived water, and the CO2 is...

Multi-objective optimisation in carbon monoxide gas management at TRONOX KXN Sands

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Stadler, Johan

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Carbon monoxide (CO is a by-product of the ilmenite smelting process from which titania slag and pig iron are produced. Prior to this project, the CO at Tronox KZN Sands in South Africa was burnt to get rid of it, producing carbon dioxide (CO2. At this plant, unprocessed materials are pre-heated using methane gas from an external supplier. The price of methane gas has increased significantly; and so this research considers the possibility of recycling CO gas and using it as an energy source to reduce methane gas demand. It is not possible to eliminate the methane gas consumption completely due to the energy demand fluctuation, and sub-plants have been assigned either CO gas or methane gas over time. Switching the gas supply between CO and methane gas involves production downtime to purge supply lines. Minimising the loss of production time while maximising the use of CO arose as a multi-objective optimisation problem (MOP with seven decision variables, and computer simulation was used to evaluate scenarios. We applied computer simulation and the multi-objective optimisation cross-entropy method (MOO CEM to find good solutions while evaluating the minimum number of scenarios. The proposals in this paper, which are in the process of being implemented, could save the company operational expenditure while reducing the carbon footprint of the smelter.

Adsorbed Carbon Formation and Carbon Hydrogenation for CO_2 Methanation on the Ni(111) Surface: ASED-MO Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choe, Sang Joon; Kang, Hae Jin; Kim, Su Jin; Park, Sung Bae; Park, Dong Ho; Huh, Do Sung

2005-01-01

Using the ASED-MO (Atom Superposition and Electron Delocalization-Molecular Orbital) theory, we investigated carbon formation and carbon hydrogenation for CO_2 methanation on the Ni (111) surface. For carbon formation mechanism, we calculated the following activation energies, 1.27 eV for CO_2 dissociation, 2.97 eV for the CO, 1.93 eV for 2CO dissociation, respectively. For carbon methanation mechanism, we also calculated the following activation energies, 0.72 eV for methylidyne, 0.52 eV for methylene and 0.50 eV for methane, respectively. We found that the calculated activation energy of CO dissociation is higher than that of 2CO dissociation on the clean surface and base on these results that the CO dissociation step are the ratedetermining of the process. The C-H bond lengths of CH_4 the intermediate complex are 1.21 A, 1.31 A for the C···H_(_1_), and 2.82 A for the height, with angles of 105 .deg. for H_(_1_)CH and 98 .deg. for H_(_1_)CH_(_1_)

Plasma catalytic reforming of methane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromberg, L.; Cohn, D.R.; Rabinovich, A. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center; Alexeev, N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation). Baikov Inst. of Metallurgy

1998-08-01

Thermal plasma technology can be efficiently used in the production of hydrogen and hydrogen-rich gases from methane and a variety of fuels. This paper describes progress in plasma reforming experiments and calculations of high temperature conversion of methane using heterogeneous processes. The thermal plasma is a highly energetic state of matter that is characterized by extremely high temperatures (several thousand degrees Celsius) and high degree of dissociation and substantial degree of ionization. The high temperatures accelerate the reactions involved in the reforming process. Hydrogen-rich gas (50% H{sub 2}, 17% CO and 33% N{sub 2}, for partial oxidation/water shifting) can be efficiently made in compact plasma reformers. Experiments have been carried out in a small device (2--3 kW) and without the use of efficient heat regeneration. For partial oxidation/water shifting, it was determined that the specific energy consumption in the plasma reforming processes is 16 MJ/kg H{sub 2} with high conversion efficiencies. Larger plasmatrons, better reactor thermal insulation, efficient heat regeneration and improved plasma catalysis could also play a major role in specific energy consumption reduction and increasing the methane conversion. A system has been demonstrated for hydrogen production with low CO content ({approximately} 1.5%) with power densities of {approximately} 30 kW (H{sub 2} HHV)/liter of reactor, or {approximately} 10 m{sup 3}/hr H{sub 2} per liter of reactor. Power density should further increase with increased power and improved design.

Metaproteomics analysis of the functional insights into microbial communities of combined hydrogen and methane production by anaerobic fermentation from reed straw.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuan Jia

Full Text Available A metaproteomic approach was used to analyse the proteins expressed and provide functional evidence of key metabolic pathways in the combined production of hydrogen and methane by anaerobic fermentation (CHMP-AF for reed straw utilisation. The functions and structures of bacteria and archaea populations show significant succession in the CHMP-AF process. There are many kinds of bacterial functional proteins, mainly belonging to phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Ferredoxin-NADP reductase, present in bacteria in genus Azotobacter, is an important enzyme for NADH/NAD+ equilibrium regulation in hydrogen production. The archaeal functional proteins are mainly involved in methane metabolism in energy metabolism, such as acetyl-CoA decarboxylase, and methyl-coenzyme M reductase, and the acetic acid pathway exhibited the highest proportion of the total. The archaea of genus Methanosarcina in phylum Euryarchaeota can produce methane under the effect of multi-functional proteins through acetic acid, CO2 reduction, and methyl nutrient pathways. The study demonstrates metaproteomics as a new way of uncovering community functional and metabolic activity. The combined information was used to identify the metabolic pathways and organisms crucial for lignocellulosic biomass degradation and biogas production. This also regulates the process from its protein levels and improves the efficiency of biogas production using reed straw biomass.

Metaproteomics analysis of the functional insights into microbial communities of combined hydrogen and methane production by anaerobic fermentation from reed straw

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Wang, Yong

2017-01-01

A metaproteomic approach was used to analyse the proteins expressed and provide functional evidence of key metabolic pathways in the combined production of hydrogen and methane by anaerobic fermentation (CHMP-AF) for reed straw utilisation. The functions and structures of bacteria and archaea populations show significant succession in the CHMP-AF process. There are many kinds of bacterial functional proteins, mainly belonging to phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Ferredoxin-NADP reductase, present in bacteria in genus Azotobacter, is an important enzyme for NADH/NAD+ equilibrium regulation in hydrogen production. The archaeal functional proteins are mainly involved in methane metabolism in energy metabolism, such as acetyl-CoA decarboxylase, and methyl-coenzyme M reductase, and the acetic acid pathway exhibited the highest proportion of the total. The archaea of genus Methanosarcina in phylum Euryarchaeota can produce methane under the effect of multi-functional proteins through acetic acid, CO2 reduction, and methyl nutrient pathways. The study demonstrates metaproteomics as a new way of uncovering community functional and metabolic activity. The combined information was used to identify the metabolic pathways and organisms crucial for lignocellulosic biomass degradation and biogas production. This also regulates the process from its protein levels and improves the efficiency of biogas production using reed straw biomass. PMID:28817657

Assessment of hydrothermal pretreatment of various lignocellulosic biomass with CO2 catalyst for enhanced methane and hydrogen production.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskicioglu, Cigdem; Monlau, Florian; Barakat, Abdellatif; Ferrer, Ivet; Kaparaju, Prasad; Trably, Eric; Carrère, Hélène

2017-09-01

Hydrothermal pretreatment of five lignocellulosic substrates (i.e. wheat straw, rice straw, biomass sorghum, corn stover and Douglas fir bark) were conducted in the presence of CO 2 as a catalyst. To maximize disintegration and conversion into bioenergy (methane and hydrogen), pretreatment temperatures and subsequent pressures varied with a range of 26-175 °C, and 25-102 bars, respectively. Among lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses, hydrothermal pretreatment caused the highest reduction (23-42%) in hemicelluloses while delignification was limited to only 0-12%. These reductions in structural integrity resulted in 20-30% faster hydrolysis rates during anaerobic digestion for the pretreated substrates of straws, sorghum, and corn stover while Douglas fir bark yielded 172% faster hydrolysis/digestion due to its highly refractory nature in the control. Furans and phenolic compounds formed in the pretreated hydrolyzates were below the inhibitory levels for methane and hydrogen production which had a range of 98-340 ml CH 4 /g volatile solids (VS) and 5-26 ml H 2 /g VS, respectively. Results indicated that hydrothermal pretreatment is able to accelerate the rate of biodegradation without generating high levels of inhibitory compounds while showing no discernible effect on ultimate biodegradation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of hemicellulolytic enzymes on mesophilic methane fermentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oi, S; Matsui, Y; Iizuka, M; Yamamoto, T

1977-01-01

Mesophilic methane fermentation was examined using soybean seed coat, a waste from soybean processing for oil manufacture, with or without treatment with hemicellulolytic enzymes of Aspergillus niger, and the following results were obtained: (1) The methane fermentation bacteria acclimated to soybean seed coat medium were shown to consume monosaccharides and evolve methane in the following decreasing order: glucose, fructose, mannose > xylose, galactose, glucosamine, galacturonic acid > arabinose. The bacteria were also shown to form methane from a gas mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. (2) In fermentation of soybean seed coat treated with the fungal enzyme, about 70% of the total sugar content as consumed in four weeks, and the gas evolution was about twice that without the fungal enzyme. The gas evolved was composed of 60% methane and 36% carbon dioxide. In general, vigorous evolution of hydrogen and carbon dioxide occurred at a very early stage of fermentation, and was followed by formation of methane. The maximum gas evolution of the enzyme-treated mash took place in 6 days while that of untreated mash occurred one week later. Chemical oxygen demand of the supernatant of the former mash was decreased by fermentation to 7.0% of the initial level.

Physics of coal methane: decisive role of iron compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gavriljuk, V. G., E-mail: gavr@imp.kiev.ua; Skoblik, A. P. [G.V. Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics (Ukraine); Shanina, B. D.; Konchits, A. A. [V. Ye. Lashkarev Institute for Semiconductor Physics (Ukraine)

2016-12-15

The role of iron in formation of the coal methane is clarified based on the studies performed on the coal samples taken from different mines in Donetsk coal basin. Using Mössbauer spectroscopy, a correlation is found between the iron content and methane capacity of coal seams. By means of electron paramagnetic resonance, it is found that iron increases the concentration of non-compensated electron spins, i.e. dangled bonds at the carbon atoms. These bonds can be occupied by hydrogen atoms as a prerequisite of methane formation. The two-valence iron is shown to be the most effective in the increase of spin concentration. By using the ion mass spectrometry, the modelling of methane formation is carried out on the mechanical mixture of the iron-free reactor graphite, iron compounds and diluted sulphuric acid as a source of hydrogen atoms. The proposed mechanism is also confirmed by methane formation in the mixture of iron compounds and the coal from the mine where the iron and methane are practically absent.

Hydrogen enriched gas production in a multi-stage downdraft gasification process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, A.; Jarungthammachote, S.

2009-01-01

To achieve hydrogen enriched and low-tar producer gas, multi-stage air-blown and air-steam gasification were studied in this research. Results showed that the tar content from multi-stage air-blown and air-steam gasification was lower compared to the average value of that from downdraft gasification. It was also seen that an air-steam gasification process could potentially increase the hydrogen concentration in the producer gas in the expense of carbon monoxide; however, the summation of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the producer gas was increased. (author)

Demonstrative study on the production of hydrogen and aromatic compounds originated from biogas in the Dairy area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yukoh Shudo; Takashi Ohkubo; Yoshiaki Hideshima

2006-01-01

The biogas yielded by methane fermentation of cow slurry was provided for the experimental facilities and the refined methane was introduced to the methane direct reformer. Dehydrogenation and aromatization of methane generated hydrogen and aromatic compounds, such as benzene. In order to keep the conversion rate, pre-treatment and regeneration of the catalysts were carried out and in order to control coking at the catalysts, hydrogen was added to the material methane. Moreover a part of the un-reacted methane was introduced to the steam reformer and 99.99% pure hydrogen was produced by the pressure swing adsorption (PSA). With the result that, it was supposed that pre-treating by methane and hydrogen, repeating regeneration by hydrogen, and more than 9% hydrogen addition were needed to stabilize the formation of hydrogen and benzene. And furthermore, material balance of the experimental facilities was clarified. (authors)

Experimental and Numerical Study of Low Temperature Methane Steam Reforming for Hydrogen Production

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Martin Khzouz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Low temperature methane steam reforming for hydrogen production, using experimental developed Ni/Al2O3 catalysts is studied both experimentally and numerically. The catalytic activity measurements were performed at a temperature range of 500–700 °C with steam to carbon ratio (S/C of 2 and 3 under atmospheric pressure conditions. A mathematical analysis to evaluate the reaction feasibility at all different conditions that have been applied by using chemical equilibrium with applications (CEA software and in addition, a mathematical model focused on the kinetics and the thermodynamics of the reforming reaction is introduced and applied using a commercial finite element analysis software (COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0. The experimental results were employed to validate the extracted simulation data based on the yields of the produced H2, CO2 and CO at different temperatures. A maximum hydrogen yield of 2.7 mol/mol-CH4 is achieved at 700 °C and S/C of 2 and 3. The stability of the 10%Ni/Al2O3 catalyst shows that the catalyst is prone to deactivation as supported by Thermogravimetric Analysis TGA results.

Influence of Oxygenated Compounds on Reaction Products in a Microwave Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Assembly for Post-Processing of Sabatier Methane

Science.gov (United States)

Mansell, J. Matthew; Abney, Morgan B.

2012-01-01

The state-of-the-art Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA) was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2010. The system is designed to accept carbon dioxide from the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly and hydrogen from the Oxygen Generation Assembly. The two gases are reacted in the CRA in a Sabatier reactor to produce water and methane. Venting of methane results in an oxygen resupply requirement of about 378 lbs per crew member per year. If the oxygen is supplied as water, the total weight for resupply is about 476 lb per crew member per year. For long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit, during which resupply capabilities will be further limited, recovery of hydrogen from methane is highly desirable. For this purpose, NASA is pursuing development of a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) capable of recovering hydrogen from methane. Under certain conditions, water vapor and carbon dioxide (nominally intended to be separated from the CRA outlet stream) may be present in the PPA feed stream. Thus, testing was conducted in 2010 to determine the effect of these oxygenated compounds on PPA performance, particularly the effect of inlet carbon dioxide and water variations on the PPA product stream. This paper discusses the test set-up, analysis, and results of this testing.

Hydrogen from biomass gas steam reforming for low temperature fuel cell: energy and exergy analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sordi

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This work presents a method to analyze hydrogen production by biomass gasification, as well as electric power generation in small scale fuel cells. The proposed methodology is the thermodynamic modeling of a reaction system for the conversion of methane and carbon monoxide (steam reforming, as well as the energy balance of gaseous flow purification in PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption is used with eight types of gasification gases in this study. The electric power is generated by electrochemical hydrogen conversion in fuel cell type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Energy and exergy analyses are applied to evaluate the performance of the system model. The simulation demonstrates that hydrogen production varies with the operation temperature of the reforming reactor and with the composition of the gas mixture. The maximum H2 mole fraction (0.6-0.64 mol.mol-1 and exergetic efficiency of 91- 92.5% for the reforming reactor are achieved when gas mixtures of higher quality such as: GGAS2, GGAS4 and GGAS5 are used. The use of those gas mixtures for electric power generation results in lower irreversibility and higher exergetic efficiency of 30-30.5%.

On the nature of gallium species in gallium-modified mordenite and MFI zeolites. A comparative DRIFT study of carbon monoxide adsorption and hydrogen dissociation.

Science.gov (United States)

Serykh, Alexander I; Kolesnikov, Stanislav P

2011-04-21

The results of a DRIFT study of carbon monoxide molecular adsorption and hydrogen dissociative adsorption on gallium-modified mordenite and MFI (ZSM-5) zeolites are presented. It was found that in the reduced gallium-modified mordenite (Ga-MOR) both Ga(3+) and Ga(+) exchanged cations are present and can be detected by CO adsorption. Ga(3+) cations in Ga-MOR dissociatively adsorb molecular hydrogen at elevated temperatures, resulting in the formation of gallium hydride species and acidic hydroxyl groups. In the reduced Ga-MFI evacuated at 823 K under medium vacuum conditions only Ga(+) exchanged intrazeolite cations were detected. It was found, however, that Ga(3+) intrazeolite exchanged cations which form upon high-temperature disproportionation of Ga(+) cations in the reduced Ga-MFI and Ga-MOR can be stabilized by high-temperature oxidation of these zeolites.

A mechanistic study on the oxidative coupling of methane over lithium doped magnesium oxide catalysts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geerts, J.W.M.H.; Kasteren, van J.M.N.; Wiele, van der K.; Imarisio, G.; Frias, M.; Berntgen, J.M.

1988-01-01

To elucidate the importance of various reaction steps in the oxidative convers ion of methane, experiments were carried out with three reaction products: ethane, ethylene and carbon monoxide. These products were studied seperately, in oxidation experiments with and without a catalyst. Moreover , the

Hydrogen uptake by Azolla-Anabaena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruschel, A.P.; Freitas, J.R. de; Silva, P.M.

1984-01-01

The hydrogen uptake in the Azolla-Anabaena system is studied. Tritium is used as tracer. Plants are incubated under different atmosphere composition: a) Air + 3 H 2 ; b) Air + CO 2 + 3 H 2 + CO; c) Air + 3 H 2 + CO; d) Air + CO 2 + 3 H 2 + CO to study the pathway of absorbed hydrogen in the Azolla - Anabaena system. Azolla-Anabaena showed greater hydrogen uptake under argonium atmosphere than under air. Carbon monoxide decreased hydrogen uptake. There are evidences of recycling of the hydrogen evolved through notrogenease. (Author) [pt

Hydrogen production from biomass pyrolysis gas via high temperature steam reforming process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wongchang, Thawatchai; Patumsawad, Suthum

2010-01-01

Full text: The aim of this work has been undertaken as part of the design of continuous hydrogen production using the high temperature steam reforming process. The steady-state test condition was carried out using syngas from biomass pyrolysis, whilst operating at high temperatures between 600 and 1200 degree Celsius. The main reformer operating parameters (e.g. temperature, resident time and steam to biomass ratio (S/B)) have been examined in order to optimize the performance of the reformer. The operating temperature is a key factor in determining the extent to which hydrogen production is increased at higher temperatures (900 -1200 degree Celsius) whilst maintaining the same as resident time and S/B ratio. The effects of exhaust gas composition on heating value were also investigated. The steam reforming process produced methane (CH 4 ) and ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) between 600 to 800 degree Celsius and enhanced production ethane (C 2 H 6 ) at 700 degree Celsius. However carbon monoxide (CO) emission was slightly increased for higher temperatures all conditions. The results show that the use of biomass pyrolysis gas can produce higher hydrogen production from high temperature steam reforming. In addition the increasing reformer efficiency needs to be optimized for different operating conditions. (author)

Method and apparatus for the selective separation of gaseous coal gasification products by pressure swing adsorption

Science.gov (United States)

Ghate, M.R.; Yang, R.T.

1985-10-03

Bulk separation of the gaseous components of multi-component gases provided by the gasification of coal including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, and acid gases (carbon dioxide plus hydrogen sulfide) are selectively adsorbed by a pressure swing adsorption technique using activated carbon zeolite or a combination thereof as the adsorbent. By charging a column containing the adsorbent with a gas mixture and pressurizing the column to a pressure sufficient to cause the adsorption of the gases and then reducing the partial pressure of the contents of the column, the gases are selectively and sequentially desorbed. Hydrogen, the least absorbable gas of the gaseous mixture, is the first gas to be desorbed and is removed from the column in a co-current direction followed by the carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. With the pressure in the column reduced to about atmospheric pressure the column is evacuated in a countercurrent direction to remove the acid gases from the column. The present invention is particularly advantageous as a producer of high purity hydrogen from gaseous products of coal gasification and as an acid gas scrubber. 2 figs., 2 tabs.

Methane production, sulfate reduction and competition for substrates in the sediments of Lake Washington

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuivila, K.M.; Murray, J.W.; Devol, A.H. (Univ. of Washington, Seattle (USA)); Novelli, P.C. (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (USA))

1989-02-01

Rates of methane production (both acetate fermentation and CO{sub 2} reduction) and sulfate reduction were directly measured as a function of depth in the sediments of Lake Washington. Although methanogenesis was the primary mode of anaerobic respiration (63%), the major zone of methane production existed only below the sulfate reduction zone (16 cm). Acetate fermentation accounted for 61 to 85% of the total methane production, which is consistent with other low sulfate environments. The observed spatial separation of methane production and sulfate reduction, which has been reported for marine sediments, is attributed to competition between the methane-producing and sulfate-reducing bacteria for acetate and hydrogen. This hypothesis is supported by the strong correlation between the measured distributions of acetate and hydrogen and the rates of methane produced from these two precursors in Lake Washington sediments. Acetate concentrations increased rapidly (from 10-16 {mu}M to 30-40 {mu}M) once the sulfate concentration decreased below 30 {mu}M and methane production via acetate fermentation began. A similar trend was observed for hydrogen concentrations, which increased from 7 to 22 nM up to 40 to 55 nM, at the onset of methanogenesis from CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} (sulfate concentrations of 35-40 {mu}M). These results show, for the first time in a freshwater lake, the separation of methane production and sulfate reduction and the corresponding changes in acetate and hydrogen concentrations.

Dry Reforming of Methane Using a Nickel Membrane Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonas M. Leimert

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Dry reforming is a very interesting process for synthesis gas generation from CH 4 and CO 2 but suffers from low hydrogen yields due to the reverse water–gas shift reaction (WGS. For this reason, membranes are often used for hydrogen separation, which in turn leads to coke formation at the process temperatures suitable for the membranes. To avoid these problems, this work shows the possibility of using nickel self-supported membranes for hydrogen separation at a temperature of 800 ∘ C. The higher temperature effectively suppresses coke formation. The paper features the analysis of the dry reforming reaction in a nickel membrane reactor without additional catalyst. The measurement campaign targeted coke formation and conversion of the methane feedstock. The nickel approximately 50% without hydrogen separation. The hydrogen removal led to an increase in methane conversion to 60–90%.

Effects of methanogenic effluent recycle on fermentative hydrogen production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraemer, J.T.; Bagley, D.M. [Toronto Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering

2004-07-01

Most research on fermentative hydrogen production has focused on optimizing the process and not on the practicalities of pH control although active pH control in a hydrogen reactor is necessary for stable and efficient performance. Batch experiments have shown that hydrogen ceases to be produced when there is no pH control. This study determined if recycle effluent from the methane reactor of a two-phase hydrogen-producing system would reduce the external alkali needed for pH control in a hydrogen reactor. It also determined if recycle affected the performance of the hydrogen reactor and the overall two-phase system. This paper describes the experimental laboratory-scale, two-phase hydrogen producing system which was operated alternately with and without effluent recycle from a methane reactor to the hydrogen reactor. The two-phase hydrogen producing system yielded 5.7 times more energy recovery than that obtained by the fermentative hydrogen producing reactor alone. The use of effluent from the methane reactor can reduce the operational cost of external alkali for pH control. 6 refs., 5 figs.

Methane generated from graphite--tritium interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffin, D.O.; Walthers, C.R.

1979-01-01

When hydrogen isotopes are separated by cryogenic distillation, as little as 1 ppM of methane will eventually plug the still as frost accumulates on the column packings. Elemental carbon exposed to tritium generates methane spontaneously, and yet some dry transfer pumps, otherwise compatible with tritium, convey the gas with graphite rotors. This study was to determine the methane production rate for graphite in tritium. A pump manufacturer supplied graphite samples that we exposed to tritium gas at 0.8 atm. After 137 days we measured a methane synthesis rate of 6 ng/h per cm 2 of graphite exposed. At this rate methane might grow to a concentration of 0.01 ppM when pure tritium is transferred once through a typical graphite--rotor transfer pump. Such a low methane level will not cause column blockage, even if the cryogenic still is operated continuously for many years

Rapid solar-thermal decarbonization of methane

Science.gov (United States)

Dahl, Jaimee Kristen

Due to the ever-increasing demand for energy and the concern over the environmental impact of continuing to produce energy using current methods, there is interest in developing a hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is a desirable energy source because it is abundant in nature and burns cleanly. One method for producing hydrogen is to utilize a renewable energy source to obtain high enough temperatures to decompose a fossil fuel into its elements. This thesis work is directed at developing a solar-thermal aerosol flow reactor to dissociate methane to carbon black and hydrogen. The technology is intended as a "bridge" between current hydrogen production methods, such as conventional steam-methane reformers, and future "zero emission" technology for producing hydrogen, such as dissociating water using a renewable heating source. A solar furnace is used to heat a reactor to temperatures in excess of 2000 K. The final reactor design studied consists of three concentric vertical tubes---an outer quartz protection tube, a middle solid graphite heating tube, and an inner porous graphite reaction tube. A "fluid-wall" is created on the inside wall of the porous reaction tube in order to prevent deposition of the carbon black co-product on the reactor tube wall. The amorphous carbon black produced aids in heating the gas stream by absorbing radiation from the reactor wall. Conversions of 90% are obtained at a reactor wall temperature of 2100 K and an average residence time of 0.01 s. Computer modeling is also performed to study the gas flow and temperature profiles in the reactor as well as the kinetics of the methane dissociation reaction. The simulations indicate that there is little flow of the fluid-wall gas through the porous wall in the hot zone region, but this can be remedied by increasing the inlet temperature of the fluid-wall gas and/or increasing the tube permeability only in the hot zone region of the wall. The following expression describes the kinetics of methane

Biohydrogen and methane production via a two-step process using an acid pretreated native microalgae consortium.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrillo-Reyes, Julian; Buitrón, Germán

2016-12-01

A native microalgae consortium treated under thermal-acidic hydrolysis was used to produce hydrogen and methane in a two-step sequential process. Different acid concentrations were tested, generating hydrogen and methane yields of up to 45mLH 2 gVS -1 and 432mLCH 4 gVS -1 , respectively. The hydrogen production step solubilized the particulate COD (chemical oxygen demand) up to 30%, creating considerable amounts of volatile fatty acids (up to 10gCODL -1 ). It was observed that lower acid concentration presented higher hydrogen and methane production potential. The results revealed that thermal acid hydrolysis of a native microalgae consortium is a simple but effective strategy for producing hydrogen and methane in the sequential process. In addition to COD removal (50-70%), this method resulted in an energy recovery of up to 15.9kJ per g of volatile solids of microalgae biomass, one of the highest reported. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methane production and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in children living in a slum.

Science.gov (United States)

Mello, Carolina Santos; Tahan, Soraia; Melli, Lígia Cristina F L; Rodrigues, Mirian Silva do Carmo; de Mello, Ricardo Martin Pereira; Scaletsky, Isabel Cristina Affonso; de Morais, Mauro Batista

2012-11-07

To analyze small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in school-aged children and the relationship between hydrogen and methane production in breath tests. This transversal study included 85 children residing in a slum and 43 children from a private school, all aged between 6 and 10 years, in Osasco, Brazil. For characterization of the groups, data regarding the socioeconomic status and basic housing sanitary conditions were collected. Anthropometric data was obtained in children from both groups. All children completed the hydrogen (H(2)) and methane (CH(4)) breath test in order to assess small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). SIBO was diagnosed when there was an increase in H(2) ≥ 20 ppm or CH(4) ≥ 10 ppm with regard to the fasting value until 60 min after lactulose ingestion. Children from the slum group had worse living conditions and lower nutritional indices than children from the private school. SIBO was found in 30.9% (26/84) of the children from the slum group and in 2.4% (1/41) from the private school group (P = 0.0007). Greater hydrogen production in the small intestine was observed in children from the slum group when compared to children from the private school (P = 0.007). A higher concentration of hydrogen in the small intestine (P slum group with SIBO when compared to children from the slum group without SIBO. Methane production was observed in 63.1% (53/84) of the children from the slum group and in 19.5% (8/41) of the children from the private school group (P slum. Colonic production of hydrogen was lower in methane-producing children (P = 0.017). Children who live in inadequate environmental conditions are at risk of bacterial overgrowth and methane production. Hydrogen is a substrate for methane production in the colon.

Pyrolysis kinetics of phenols from lignite semicoking tar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Platonov, V.V.; Polovetskaya, O.S.; Proskuryakov, V.A.; Shavyrina, O.A. [Leo Tolstoy Tula State Pedag University, Tula (Russian Federation)

2002-11-01

The features of pyrolysis of phenols from lignite semicoking tar were studied. The activation energy and order of the reactions of accumulation of methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and dioxide, naphthalene and its methyl homologs, phenols, and isomeric cresols and dimethylphenols were determined.

Hydrogen production from catalytic decomposition of methane; Produccion de hidrogeno a partir de la descomposicion termica catalitica del biogas de digestion anaerobia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belsue Echevarria, M.; Etxebeste Juarez, O.; Perez Gil, S.

2002-07-01

The need of substitution of part of the energy obtained from fossil fuels instead of energy from renewable sources, together with the minimal emissions of CO{sub ''} and CO that are expected with these technologies, make renewable sources a very attractive predecessor for the production of hydrogen. In this situation, a usable source for hydrogen production is the biogas achieved by means of technologies like the anaerobic digestion of different kinds of biomass (MSW, sewage sludge, stc.). In this article we suggest the Thermal Catalytic Decomposition of the methane contained in this biogas, after separation of pollutants like CO{sub ''}, H{sub 2}S. steam. This technology will give hydrogen, usable in fuel cells, and nanoestructured carbon as products. (Author) 7 refs.

Evidence for methane in Martian meteorites.

Science.gov (United States)

Blamey, Nigel J F; Parnell, John; McMahon, Sean; Mark, Darren F; Tomkinson, Tim; Lee, Martin; Shivak, Jared; Izawa, Matthew R M; Banerjee, Neil R; Flemming, Roberta L

2015-06-16

The putative occurrence of methane in the Martian atmosphere has had a major influence on the exploration of Mars, especially by the implication of active biology. The occurrence has not been borne out by measurements of atmosphere by the MSL rover Curiosity but, as on Earth, methane on Mars is most likely in the subsurface of the crust. Serpentinization of olivine-bearing rocks, to yield hydrogen that may further react with carbon-bearing species, has been widely invoked as a source of methane on Mars, but this possibility has not hitherto been tested. Here we show that some Martian meteorites, representing basic igneous rocks, liberate a methane-rich volatile component on crushing. The occurrence of methane in Martian rock samples adds strong weight to models whereby any life on Mars is/was likely to be resident in a subsurface habitat, where methane could be a source of energy and carbon for microbial activity.

Reactions of O/1D/ with methane and ethane.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, C.-L.; Demore, W. B.

1973-01-01

Mixtures of nitrous oxide and methane and mixtures of nitrous oxide and ethane were photolyzed with 1849-A light. The reaction products were analyzed chromatographically. It was found that the reaction of the excited atomic oxygen with methane gives mainly CH3 and OH radicals as initial products, along with about 9% of formaldehyde and molecular hydrogen. The reaction of the excited atomic oxygen with ethane gives C2H5, OH, CH3 and CH2OH as major initial products, with only a few per cent of molecular hydrogen.

C1 CHEMISTRY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ULTRA-CLEAN LIQUID TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND HYDROGEN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerald P. Huffman

2003-09-30

The Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science (CFFS) is a research consortium with participants from the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, University of Utah, West Virginia University, and Auburn University. The CFFS is conducting a research program to develop C1 chemistry technology for the production of clean transportation fuel from resources such as coal and natural gas, which are more plentiful domestically than petroleum. The processes under development will convert feedstocks containing one carbon atom per molecular unit into ultra clean liquid transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) and hydrogen, which many believe will be the transportation fuel of the future. These feedstocks include synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced by coal gasification or reforming of natural gas, methane, methanol, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Some highlights of the results obtained during the first year of the current research contract are summarized as: (1) Terminal alkynes are an effective chain initiator for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactions, producing normal paraffins with C numbers {ge} to that of the added alkyne. (2) Significant improvement in the product distribution towards heavier hydrocarbons (C{sub 5} to C{sub 19}) was achieved in supercritical fluid (SCF) FT reactions compared to that of gas-phase reactions. (3) Xerogel and aerogel silica supported cobalt catalysts were successfully employed for FT synthesis. Selectivity for diesel range products increased with increasing Co content. (4) Silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO) molecular sieve catalysts have been developed for methanol to olefin conversion, producing value-added products such as ethylene and propylene. (5) Hybrid Pt-promoted tungstated and sulfated zirconia catalysts are very effective in cracking n-C{sub 36} to jet and diesel fuel; these catalysts will be tested for cracking of FT wax. (6) Methane, ethane, and propane are readily decomposed to pure

Numerical analysis of hydrogen production via methane steam reforming in porous media solar thermochemical reactor using concentrated solar irradiation as heat source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fuqiang; Tan, Jianyu; Shuai, Yong; Gong, Liang; Tan, Heping

2014-01-01

Highlights: • H 2 production by hybrid solar energy and methane steam reforming is analyzed. • MCRT and FVM coupling method is used for chemical reaction in solar porous reactor. • LTNE model is used to study the solid phase and fluid phase thermal performance. • Modified P1 approximation programmed by UDFs is used for irradiative heat transfer. - Abstract: The calorific value of syngas can be greatly upgraded during the methane steam reforming process by using concentrated solar energy as heat source. In this study, the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT) and Finite Volume Method (FVM) coupling method is developed to investigate the hydrogen production performance via methane steam reforming in porous media solar thermochemical reactor which includes the mass, momentum, energy and irradiative transfer equations as well as chemical reaction kinetics. The local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) model is used to provide more temperature information. The modified P1 approximation is adopted for solving the irradiative heat transfer equation. The MCRT method is used to calculate the sunlight concentration and transmission problems. The fluid phase energy equation and transport equations are solved by Fluent software. The solid phase energy equation, irradiative transfer equation and chemical reaction kinetics are programmed by user defined functions (UDFs). The numerical results indicate that concentrated solar irradiation on the fluid entrance surface of solar chemical reactor is highly uneven, and temperature distribution has significant influence on hydrogen production

Subsurface methane formation in graphite due to exposure to H+ and D+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, S.; Haasz, A.A.

1994-01-01

The extent of H-D mixing in the form of mixed-isotope methane formation during simultaneous H + /D + bombardment of graphite was measured and found to be a sensitive function of H + -D + ion range separation. The result strongly supports the model that methane molecules are formed at the end of ion range in the bulk of graphite. A long steadily decreasing transient was observed in the methane emission when bombarding a virgin graphite sample with 10 keV D + at 800 K. The effect was less pronounced for low density fine grain isographites (EK98) than for high density pyrolytic graphite (HPG99) and monocrystal carbons. We propose a model which attributes this transient to the creation of new internal ''surfaces'', formed during ion irradiation along with ion-created micropaths. The increase in internal surface area effectively ''dilutes'' the inner surface hydrogen concentration in the region where incident hydrogen ions thermalize. We propose that, initially, methane molecules are formed mainly on inherent internal surfaces (pore and grain/crystallite boundary surfaces) in the region where hydrogen ions thermalize; then as damage builds up, newly produced internal ''surfaces'' also contribute to methane formation. (orig.)

Titan's Methane Cycle is Closed

Science.gov (United States)

Hofgartner, J. D.; Lunine, J. I.

2013-12-01

Doppler tracking of the Cassini spacecraft determined a polar moment of inertia for Titan of 0.34 (Iess et al., 2010, Science, 327, 1367). Assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, one interpretation is that Titan's silicate core is partially hydrated (Castillo-Rogez and Lunine, 2010, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L20205). These authors point out that for the core to have avoided complete thermal dehydration to the present day, at least 30% of the potassium content of Titan must have leached into an overlying water ocean by the end of the core overturn. We calculate that for probable ammonia compositions of Titan's ocean (compositions with greater than 1% ammonia by weight), that this amount of potassium leaching is achievable via the substitution of ammonium for potassium during the hydration epoch. Formation of a hydrous core early in Titan's history by serpentinization results in the loss of one hydrogen molecule for every hydrating water molecule. We calculate that complete serpentinization of Titan's core corresponds to the release of more than enough hydrogen to reconstitute all of the methane atoms photolyzed throughout Titan's history. Insertion of molecular hydrogen by double occupancy into crustal clathrates provides a storage medium and an opportunity for ethane to be converted back to methane slowly over time--potentially completing a cycle that extends the lifetime of methane in Titan's surface atmosphere system by factors of several to an order of magnitude over the photochemically-calculated lifetime.

Diagnosis of a short-pulse dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure in helium with hydrogen-methane admixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Nastuta, A. V.; Pohoata, V.; Mihaila, I.; Topala, I.

2018-04-01

In this study, we present results from electrical, optical, and spectroscopic diagnosis of a short-pulse (250 ns) high-power impulse (up to 11 kW) dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure running in a helium/helium-hydrogen/helium-hydrogen-methane gas mixture. This plasma source is able to generate up to 20 cm3 of plasma volume, pulsed in kilohertz range. The plasma spatio-temporal dynamics are found to be developed in three distinct phases. All the experimental observations reveal a similar dynamic to medium power microsecond barrier discharges, although the power per pulse and current density are up to two orders of magnitude higher than the case of microsecond barrier discharges. This might open the possibility for new applications in the field of gas or surface processing, and even life science. These devices can be used in laboratory experiments relevant for molecular astrophysics.

Evaluation of an integrated methane autothermal reforming and high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Authayanun, Suthida; Saebea, Dang; Patcharavorachot, Yaneeporn; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the performance and efficiency of an integrated autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC (high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system fueled by methane. Effect of the inclusion of a CO (carbon monoxide) removal process on the integrated HT-PEMFC system was considered. An increase in the S/C (steam-to-carbon) ratio and the reformer temperature can enhance the hydrogen fraction while the CO formation reduces with increasing S/C ratio. The fuel processor efficiency of the methane autothermal reformer with a WGS (water gas shift reactor) reactor, as the CO removal process, is higher than that without a WGS reactor. A higher fuel processor efficiency can be obtained when the feed of the autothermal reformer is preheated to the reformer temperature. Regarding the cell performance, the reformate gas from the methane reformer operated at T in  = T R and with a high S/C ratio is suitable for the HT-PEMFC system without a WGS reactor. When considering the HT-PEMFC system with a WGS reactor, the CO poisoning has less significant impact on the cell performance and the system can be operated over a broader range to minimize the required total active area. A WGS reactor is necessary for the methane autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC integrated system with regard to the system efficiency. - Highlights: • An integrated autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC system was studied. • The HT-PEMFC system with and without a CO removal process was considered. • Parametric analysis was performed to obtain a high system efficiency. • The HT-PEMFC system with the WGS reactor can be run over a broader range. • The efficiencies of the HT-PEMFC systems without and with a WGS reactor were reported

2018-03-19T23:00:58Z https://www.ajol.info/index.php/all/oai oai:ojs ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The parameters measured were suspended particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile organic carbon, temperature, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity. The results showed the highest concentrations of 0.007mg/m3 (PM1, dry), ...

Design of adiabatic fixed-bed reactors for the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas. Application to production of methanol and hydrogen-for-fuel-cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smet, de C.R.H.; Croon, de M.H.J.M.; Berger, R.J.; Marin, G.B.M.M.; Schouten, J.C.

2001-01-01

Adiabatic fixed-bed reactors for the catalytic partial oxidn. (CPO) of methane to synthesis gas were designed at conditions suitable for the prodn. of methanol and hydrogen-for-fuel-cells. A steady-state, one-dimensional heterogeneous reactor model was applied in the simulations. Intra-particle

Comparison of Nonprecious Metal Cathode Materials for Methane Production by Electromethanogenesis.

KAUST Repository

Siegert, Michael; Yates, Matthew D; Call, Douglas F; Zhu, Xiuping; Spormann, Alfred; Logan, Bruce E

2014-01-01

In methanogenic microbial electrolysis cells (MMCs), CO2 is reduced to methane using a methanogenic biofilm on the cathode by either direct electron transfer or evolved hydrogen. To optimize methane generation, we examined several cathode materials

Methane Post-Processor Development to Increase Oxygen Recovery beyond State-of-the-Art Carbon Dioxide Reduction Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Abney, Morgan B.; Greenwood, Zachary; Miller, Lee A.; Alvarez, Giraldo; Iannantuono, Michelle; Jones, Kenny

2013-01-01

State-of-the-art life support carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction technology, based on the Sabatier reaction, is theoretically capable of 50% recovery of oxygen from metabolic CO2. This recovery is constrained by the limited availability of reactant hydrogen. Post-processing of the methane byproduct from the Sabatier reactor results in hydrogen recycle and a subsequent increase in oxygen recovery. For this purpose, a Methane Post-Processor Assembly containing three sub-systems has been developed and tested. The assembly includes a Methane Purification Assembly (MePA) to remove residual CO2 and water vapor from the Sabatier product stream, a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) to partially pyrolyze methane into hydrogen and acetylene, and an Acetylene Separation Assembly (ASepA) to purify the hydrogen product for recycle. The results of partially integrated testing of the sub-systems are reported

Simultaneous hydrogen utilization and in situ biogas upgrading in an anaerobic reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luo, Gang; Johansson, Sara; Boe, Kanokwan

2012-01-01

. The methane production rate of the reactor with H2 addition was 22% higher, compared to the control reactor only fed with manure. The CO2 content in the produced biogas was only 15%, while it was 38% in the control reactor. However, the addition of hydrogen resulted in increase of pH (from 8.0 to 8.3) due......The possibility of converting hydrogen to methane and simultaneous upgrading of biogas was investigated in both batch tests and fully mixed biogas reactor, simultaneously fed with manure and hydrogen. Batch experiments showed that hydrogen could be converted to methane by hydrogenotrophic...

Mechanistic study of the isotopic-exchange reaction between gaseous hydrogen and palladium hydride powder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Outka, D.A.; Foltz, G.W.

1991-01-01

A detailed mechanism for the isotopic-exchange reaction between gaseous hydrogen and solid palladium hydride is developed which extends previous model for this reaction by specifically including surface reactions. The modeling indicates that there are two surface-related processes that contribute to the overall rate of exchange: the desorption of hydrogen from the surface and the exchange between surface hydrogen and bulk hydrogen. This conclusion is based upon measurements examining the effect of small concentrations of carbon monoxide were helpful in elucidating the mechanism. Carbon monoxide reversibly inhibits certain steps in the exchange; this slows the overall rate of exchange and changes the distribution of products from the reactor

First experience with the new solid methane moderator at the IBR-2 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beliakov, A.A.; Shabalin, E.P.; Tretyakov, I.T.

2001-01-01

In the 1999 Fall the solid methane moderator (CM) has been installed and tested at full power at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor. Its main features are a beryllium reflector and a light water premoderator. Radiation load on the methane was three times as much as that of IPNS facility, namely, 0.1 W/g. Effects of temperature, operation time, concentration of a hydrogen scavenger, and annealing procedure on both neutron and service performances were studied. Maximum operation time of a newly loaded portion of methane was 4 days. In this time around 30% of methane is transformed into hydrogen, ethane, and high molecular hydrocarbons, and yet no deterioration in cold neutron intensity was detected. Among new knowledge, the most important are two facts observed: two-fold decrease in hydrogen formation rate when methane is poisoned with 2.5% to 5% of ethylene, and low formation rate of solid, inremovable products of radiolysis - (1.5/3)10 -7 g/J, which means that after 10 years of operation the methane chamber will be filled with only 100 g of residue. Gain of factor 20 in cold neutron flux was obtained as compared to the routine grooved light water moderator. Presently, it is the highest among the intense pulsed neutron sources. (author)

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Extracting oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patart, G

1926-03-15

In the hydrogenation or extraction of by-products from organic substances at high temperatures and pressures, the gases or liquids, or both, used are those which are already heated and compressed during industrial operations such as exothermic synthesizing reactions such as the production of methanol from hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a catalytic process. Gases from this reaction may be passed upwardly through a digester packed with pine wood while liquid from the same catalytic process is passed downwardly through the material. The issuing liquid contains methanol, pine oil, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and acetic acid. The gases contain additional hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, ethylene, and its homologs which are condensed upon the catalyser to liquid hydrocarbons. Petroleum oils and coal may be treated similarly.

Use of carbon monoxide and hydrogen by a bacteria–animal symbiosis from seagrass sediments

Science.gov (United States)

Holler, Thomas; Lavik, Gaute; Harder, Jens; Lott, Christian; Littmann, Sten; Kuypers, Marcel M. M.; Dubilier, Nicole

2015-01-01

Summary The gutless marine worm O lavius algarvensis lives in symbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria that provide nutrition by fixing carbon dioxide (CO 2) into biomass using reduced sulfur compounds as energy sources. A recent metaproteomic analysis of the O . algarvensis symbiosis indicated that carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H 2) might also be used as energy sources. We provide direct evidence that the O . algarvensis symbiosis consumes CO and H 2. Single cell imaging using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed that one of the symbionts, the γ3‐symbiont, uses the energy from CO oxidation to fix CO 2. Pore water analysis revealed considerable in‐situ concentrations of CO and H 2 in the O . algarvensis environment, Mediterranean seagrass sediments. Pore water H 2 concentrations (89–2147 nM) were up to two orders of magnitude higher than in seawater, and up to 36‐fold higher than previously known from shallow‐water marine sediments. Pore water CO concentrations (17–51 nM) were twice as high as in the overlying seawater (no literature data from other shallow‐water sediments are available for comparison). Ex‐situ incubation experiments showed that dead seagrass rhizomes produced large amounts of CO. CO production from decaying plant material could thus be a significant energy source for microbial primary production in seagrass sediments. PMID:26013766

A new method for the simultaneous enhancement of methane yield and reduction of hydrogen sulfide production in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Xiaohu; Hu, Chongliang; Zhang, Dong; Chen, Yinguang

2017-11-01

The biogas generated from anaerobic digestion (AD) also includes undesirable by-product such as hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), which must be removed before the biogas can be used as a clean energy source. Therefore, it is necessary to find an appropriate strategy to simultaneously enhance the methane yield and reduce H 2 S production. An efficient strategy-pretreating sludge at pH 10 for 8d and adjusting the system at neutral pH to produce methane for 20d-is reported for the synchronous enhancement of methane production and reduction of H 2 S production during AD. The experimental results showed that the cumulative methane yield was 861.2±6.1mL/g volatile solids (VS) of sludge pretreated at pH 10 in semi-continuous stirred anaerobic reactors for 84d, an increase of 49.6% over the yield in the control. Meanwhile, the cumulative production of H 2 S was 144.1×10 -4 mL/g VS, 54.2% lower than that in the control. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Requirements in Anaerobic Methane Oxidizing Consortia Exclude Hydrogen, Acetate, and Methanol as Possible Electron Shuttles.

Science.gov (United States)

Sørensen, K.B.; Finster, K.; Ramsing, N.B.

2001-07-01

Anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) has long remained an enigma in microbial ecology. In the process the net reaction appears to be an oxidation of methane with sulfate as electron acceptor. In order to explain experimental data such as effects of inhibitors and isotopic signals in biomarkers it has been suggested that the process is carried out by a consortium of bacteria using an unknown compound to shuttle electrons between the participants. The overall change in free energy during AMO with sulfate is very small (?22 kJ mol-1) at in situ concentrations of methane and sulfate. In order to share the available free energy between the members of the consortium, the concentration of the intermediate electron shuttle compound becomes crucial. Diffusive flux of a substrate (i.e, the electron shuttle) between bacteria requires a stable concentration gradient where the concentration is higher in the producing organism than in the consuming organism. Since changes in concentrations cause changes in reaction free energies, the diffusive flux of a catabolic product/substrate between bacteria is associated with a net loss of available energy. This restricts maximal inter-bacterial distances in consortia composed of stationary bacteria. A simple theoretical model was used to describe the relationship between inter-bacterial distances and the energy lost due to concentration differences in consortia. Key parameters turned out to be the permissible concentration range of the electron shuttle in the consortium (i.e., the concentration range that allows both participants to gain sufficient energy) and the stoichiometry of the partial reactions. The model was applied to two known consortia degrading ethanol and butyrate and to four hypothetical methane-oxidizing consortia (MOC) based on interspecies transfer of hydrogen, methanol, acetate, or formate, respectively. In the first three MOCs the permissible distances between producers and consumers of the transferred compounds were

Swarm intelligence for multi-objective optimization of synthesis gas production

Science.gov (United States)

Ganesan, T.; Vasant, P.; Elamvazuthi, I.; Ku Shaari, Ku Zilati

2012-11-01

In the chemical industry, the production of methanol, ammonia, hydrogen and higher hydrocarbons require synthesis gas (or syn gas). The main three syn gas production methods are carbon dioxide reforming (CRM), steam reforming (SRM) and partial-oxidation of methane (POM). In this work, multi-objective (MO) optimization of the combined CRM and POM was carried out. The empirical model and the MO problem formulation for this combined process were obtained from previous works. The central objectives considered in this problem are methane conversion, carbon monoxide selectivity and the hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio. The MO nature of the problem was tackled using the Normal Boundary Intersection (NBI) method. Two techniques (Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)) were then applied in conjunction with the NBI method. The performance of the two algorithms and the quality of the solutions were gauged by using two performance metrics. Comparative studies and results analysis were then carried out on the optimization results.

A comparative parametric study of a catalytic plate methane reformer coated with segmented and continuous layers of combustion catalyst for hydrogen production

Science.gov (United States)

Mundhwa, Mayur; Parmar, Rajesh D.; Thurgood, Christopher P.

2017-03-01

A parametric comparison study is carried out between segmented and conventional continuous layer configurations of the coated combustion-catalyst to investigate their influence on the performance of methane steam reforming (MSR) for hydrogen production in a catalytic plate reactor (CPR). MSR is simulated on one side of a thin plate over a continuous layer of nickel-alumina catalyst by implementing an experimentally validated surface microkinetic model. Required thermal energy for the MSR reaction is supplied by simulating catalytic methane combustion (CMC) on the opposite side of the plate over segmented and continuous layer of a platinum-alumina catalyst by implementing power law rate model. The simulation results of both coating configurations of the combustion-catalyst are compared using the following parameters: (1) co-flow and counter-flow modes between CMC and MSR, (2) gas hourly space velocity and (3) reforming-catalyst thickness. The study explains why CPR designed with the segmented combustion-catalyst and co-flow mode shows superior performance not only in terms of high hydrogen production but also in terms of minimizing the maximum reactor plate temperature and thermal hot-spots. The study shows that the segmented coating requires 7% to 8% less combustion-side feed flow and 70% less combustion-catalyst to produce the required flow of hydrogen (29.80 mol/h) on the reforming-side to feed a 1 kW fuel-cell compared to the conventional continuous coating of the combustion-catalyst.

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Photosynthesis in Hydrogen-Dominated Atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Bains, William; Seager, Sara; Zsom, Andras

2014-01-01

The diversity of extrasolar planets discovered in the last decade shows that we should not be constrained to look for life in environments similar to early or present-day Earth. Super-Earth exoplanets are being discovered with increasing frequency, and some will be able to retain a stable, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. We explore the possibilities for photosynthesis on a rocky planet with a thin H2-dominated atmosphere. If a rocky, H2-dominated planet harbors life, then that life is likely to convert atmospheric carbon into methane. Outgassing may also build an atmosphere in which methane is the principal carbon species. We describe the possible chemical routes for photosynthesis starting from methane and show that less energy and lower energy photons could drive CH4-based photosynthesis as compared with CO2-based photosynthesis. We find that a by-product biosignature gas is likely to be H2, which is not distinct from the hydrogen already present in the environment. Ammonia is a potential biosignature gas of hydrogenic photosynthesis that is unlikely to be generated abiologically. We suggest that the evolution of methane-based photosynthesis is at least as likely as the evolution of anoxygenic photosynthesis on Earth and may support the evolution of complex life. PMID:25411926

Photosynthesis in Hydrogen-Dominated Atmospheres

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Bains

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The diversity of extrasolar planets discovered in the last decade shows that we should not be constrained to look for life in environments similar to early or present-day Earth. Super-Earth exoplanets are being discovered with increasing frequency, and some will be able to retain a stable, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. We explore the possibilities for photosynthesis on a rocky planet with a thin H2-dominated atmosphere. If a rocky, H2-dominated planet harbors life, then that life is likely to convert atmospheric carbon into methane. Outgassing may also build an atmosphere in which methane is the principal carbon species. We describe the possible chemical routes for photosynthesis starting from methane and show that less energy and lower energy photons could drive CH4-based photosynthesis as compared with CO2-based photosynthesis. We find that a by-product biosignature gas is likely to be H2, which is not distinct from the hydrogen already present in the environment. Ammonia is a potential biosignature gas of hydrogenic photosynthesis that is unlikely to be generated abiologically. We suggest that the evolution of methane-based photosynthesis is at least as likely as the evolution of anoxygenic photosynthesis on Earth and may support the evolution of complex life.

Carbon monoxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

The document identifies the main sources of carbon monoxide (CO) in the general outdoor atmosphere, describes methods of measuring and monitoring its concentration levels in the United Kingdom, and discusses the effects of carbon monoxide on human health. Following its review, the Panel has put forward a recommendation for an air quality standard for carbon monoxide in the United Kingdom of 10 ppm, measured as a running 8-hour average. The document includes tables and graphs of emissions of CO, in total and by emission source, and on the increase in blood levels of carboxyhaemoglobin with continuing exposure to CO. 11 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.

Appraisal of bio-hydrogen production schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bent Sorensen

2006-01-01

Work is ongoing on several schemes of biological hydrogen production. At one end is the genetic modification of biological systems (such as algae or cyanobacteria) to produce hydrogen from photosynthesis, instead of the energy-rich compounds (such as NADPH 2 ) normally constituting the endpoint of the transformations through the photo-systems. A second route is to collect and use the biomass produced by normal plant growth processes in a separate step that produces hydrogen. This may be done similar to biogas production by fermentation, where the endpoint is methane (plus CO 2 and minor constituents). Hydrogen could be the outcome of a secondary process starting from methane, involving any of the conventional methods of hydrogen production from natural gas. An alternative to fermentation is gasification of the biomass, followed by a shift-reaction leading to hydrogen. I compare advantages and disadvantages of these three routes, notably factors such as system efficiency, cost and environmental impacts, and also compare them to liquid biofuels. (author)

Spatial and temporal variability of urban fluxes of methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide above London, UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Helfter

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We report on more than 3 years of measurements of fluxes of methane (CH4, carbon monoxide (CO and carbon dioxide (CO2 taken by eddy-covariance in central London, UK. Mean annual emissions of CO2 in the period 2012–2014 (39.1 ± 2.4 ktons km−2 yr−1 and CO (89 ± 16 tons km−2 yr−1 were consistent (within 1 and 5 % respectively with values from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, but measured CH4 emissions (72 ± 3 tons km−2 yr−1 were over two-fold larger than the inventory value. Seasonal variability was large for CO with a winter to summer reduction of 69 %, and monthly fluxes were strongly anti-correlated with mean air temperature. The winter increment in CO emissions was attributed mainly to vehicle cold starts and reduced fuel combustion efficiency. CO2 fluxes were 33 % higher in winter than in summer and anti-correlated with mean air temperature, albeit to a lesser extent than for CO. This was attributed to an increased demand for natural gas for heating during the winter. CH4 fluxes exhibited moderate seasonality (21 % larger in winter, and a spatially variable linear anti-correlation with air temperature. Differences in resident population within the flux footprint explained up to 90 % of the spatial variability of the annual CO2 fluxes and up to 99 % for CH4. Furthermore, we suggest that biogenic sources of CH4, such as wastewater, which is unaccounted for by the atmospheric emissions inventories, make a substantial contribution to the overall budget and that commuting dynamics in and out of central business districts could explain some of the spatial and temporal variability of CO2 and CH4 emissions. To our knowledge, this study is unique given the length of the data sets presented, especially for CO and CH4 fluxes. This study offers an independent assessment of "bottom-up" emissions inventories and demonstrates that the urban sources of CO and CO2 are well characterized in

Methanol as a High Purity Hydrogen Source for Fuel Cells: A Brief Review of Catalysts and Rate Expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madej-Lachowska Maria

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, therefore many hydrogen production methods are developed. At present, fuel cells are of great interest due to their energy efficiency and environmental benefits. A brief review of effective formation methods of hydrogen was conducted. It seems that hydrogen from steam reforming of methanol process is the best fuel source to be applied in fuel cells. In this process Cu-based complex catalysts proved to be the best. In presented work kinetic equations from available literature and catalysts are reported. However, hydrogen produced even in the presence of the most selective catalysts in this process is not pure enough for fuel cells and should be purified from CO. Currently, catalysts for hydrogen production are not sufficiently active in oxidation of carbon monoxide. A simple and effective method to lower CO level and obtain clean H2 is the preferential oxidation of monoxide carbon (CO-PROX. Over new CO-PROX catalysts the level of carbon monoxide can be lowered to a sufficient level of 10 ppm.

An advanced cold moderator using solid methane pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Carpenter, J.M.

2001-01-01

This paper reports developments of the pellet formation and transport technologies required for producing a liquid helium or hydrogen cooled methane pellet moderator. The Phase I US DOE SBIR project, already completed, demonstrated the production of 3 mm transparent pellets of frozen methane and ammonia and transport of the pellets into a 40 cc observation cell cooled with liquid helium. The methane pellets, formed at 72 K, stuck together during the loading of the cell. Ammonia pellets did not stick and fell readily under vibration into a packed bed with a 60% fill fraction. A 60% fill fraction should produce a very significant increase in long-wavelength neutron production and advantages in shorter pulse widths as compared to a liquid hydrogen moderator. The work also demonstrated a method of rapidly changing the pellets in the moderator cell. The Phase II project, just now underway, will develop a full-scale pellet source and transport system with a 1.5 L 'moderator' cell. The Phase II effort will also produce an apparatus to sub-cool the methane pellets to below 20 K, which should prevent the methane pellets from sticking together. In addition to results of the phase I experiments, the presentation includes a short video of the pellets, and a description of plans for the Phase II project. (author)

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamal Mishra

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer, being colorless, odourless, and tasteless. Initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect Carbon monoxide is a product of incomplete combustion of organic matter due to insufficient oxygen supply that prevents complete oxidation of carbon to C02. During World War II, Nazis used gas vans to kill an estimated over 700,000 prisoners by carbon monoxide poisoning. This method was also used in the gas chambers ofseveral death camps. The true number of incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning is unknown, since many non-lethal exposures go undetected From the available data, carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common cause of injury and death due to poisoning worldwide. Clinical features and management: The signs of carbon monoxide poisoning vary with concentration and length of exposure. Subtle cardiovascular or neurobehavioural effects occur at low concentration. The onset of chronic poisoning is usually insidious and easily mistaken for viral prodrome, depression, or gastroenteritis in children. The classic sign of carbon monoxide poisoning which is actually more often seen in the dead than the living is appearing red-cheeked and healthy. Cherry pink colour develops in nails, skin and mucosa. In acute poisoning, common abnormalities of posture and tone are cogwheel rigidity, opisthotonus, spasticity or flaccidity and seizures. Retinal haemorrhages and the classic cherry red skin colour are seldom seen. Different people andpopulations may have different carbon monoxide tolerance levels. On average, exposures at 100ppm or greater is dangerous to human health. Treatment and prevention: The mainstay of treatment is 100% oxygen administration until the COHb level is normal When the patient is stable enough to be transported, hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT should be considered This treatment is safe and well tolerated Public education about the danger of carbon monoxide, with

Development of Coke-tolerant Transition Metal Catalysts for Dry Reforming of Methane

KAUST Repository

Al-Sabban, Bedour E.

2016-01-01

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an attractive and promising process for the conversion of methane and carbon dioxide which are the most abundant carbon sources into valuable syngas. The produced syngas, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon

Methane Conversion to C2 Hydrocarbons by Abnormal Glow Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai Wei; Yu Hui; Chen Qi; Yin Yongxiang; Dai Xiaoyan

2005-01-01

Methane conversion to C 2 hydrocarbons has been investigated with the addition of hydrogen in a plasma reactor of abnormal glow discharge at atmospheric pressure. The aim of this experiment is to minimize coke formation and improve discharge stability. The typical conditions in the experiment are 300 ml of total feed flux and 400 W of discharge power. The experimental results show that methane conversion is from 91.6% to 35.2% in mol, acetylene selectivity is from 90.2% to 57.6%, and ethylene selectivity is approximately from 7.8% to 3.6%, where the coke increases gradually along with the increase of CH 4 /H 2 from 2: 8 to 9: 1. A stable discharge for a considerable running time can be obtained only at a lower ratio of CH 4 /H 2 2: 8 or 3: 7. These phenomena indicate that the coke deposition during methane conversion is obviously reduced by adding a large amount of hydrogen during an abnormal glow discharge. A qualitative interpretation is presented, namely, with abundant hydrogen, the possibility that hydrogen molecules are activated to hydrogen radicals is increased with the help of the abnormal glow discharge. These hydrogen radicals react with carbon radicals to form C 2 hydrocarbon products. Therefore, the deposition of coke is restrained

Carbon Monoxide Safety

Science.gov (United States)

... with the Media Fire Protection Technology Carbon monoxide safety outreach materials Keep your community informed about the ... KB | Spanish PDF 592 KB Handout: carbon monoxide safety Download this handout and add your organization's logo ...

Methane Steam Reforming Kinetics for a Rhodium-Based Catalyst

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Jon Geest; Jakobsen, M.; Chorkendorff, Ib

2010-01-01

Methane steam reforming is the key reaction to produce synthesis gas and hydrogen at the industrial scale. Here the kinetics of methane steam reforming over a rhodium-based catalyst is investigated in the temperature range 500-800 A degrees C and as a function of CH4, H2O and H-2 partial pressures....... The methane steam reforming reaction cannot be modeled without taking CO and H coverages into account. This is especially important at low temperatures and higher partial pressures of CO and H-2. For methane CO2 reforming experiments, it is also necessary to consider the repulsive interaction of CO...

Canada's hydrogen energy sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimmel, T.B.

2009-01-01

Canada produces the most hydrogen per capita of any Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country. The majority of this hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming for industrial use (predominantly oil upgrading and fertilizer production). Canada also has a world leading hydrogen and fuel cell sector. This sector is seeking new methods for making hydrogen for its future energy needs. The paper will discuss Canada's hydrogen and fuel cell sector in the context of its capabilities, its demonstration and commercialization activities and its stature on the world stage. (author)

Rhodium based clusters for oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation in 0.5 M H2SO4, tolerant to methanol and carbon monoxide, respectively

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uribe-Godinez, J.; Jimenez-Sandoval, O.; Borja-Arco, E.; Altamirano-Gutierrez, A. [Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Queritaro (Mexico); Castellanos, R.H. [Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnologia Avanzada-Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico)

2008-07-01

Rhodium (Rh6(CO)16) and novel Rh-based clusters were prepared using thermolysis techniques under different conditions in N2 and H2 reaction media, as well as in n-nonane, o-xylene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene and dimethylsulfoxide. The clusters were used as novel electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the absence and presence of 1.0 and 2.0 M methanol solutions. The catalysts were also used for hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) with pure hydrogen (H2) and in the presence of carbon monoxide (CO). Rotating disk electrode measurements were used to analyze the materials. The study showed that the electrocatalyst support ratio plays a significant role in the electrochemical behaviour of the materials. Rh6(CO)16 and Rh2(1,2-DCB) presented the best electrocatalytic behaviour for ORR and HOR in the absence and presence of methanol and CO. The study demonstrated that the rhodium-based materials are capable of performing ORR and HOR while being tolerant of both methanol and CO. 3 refs., 3 figs.

Steam Methane Reformation Testing for Air-Independent Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mwara, Kamwana N.

2015-01-01

Recently, NASA has been looking into utilizing landers that can be propelled by LOX-CH (sub 4), to be used for long duration missions. Using landers that utilize such propellants, also provides the opportunity to use solid oxide fuel cells as a power option, especially since they are able to process methane into a reactant through fuel reformation. One type of reformation, called steam methane reformation, is a process to reform methane into a hydrogen-rich product by reacting methane and steam (fuel cell exhaust) over a catalyst. A steam methane reformation system could potentially use the fuel cell's own exhaust to create a reactant stream that is hydrogen-rich, and requires less internal reforming of the incoming methane. Also, steam reformation may hold some advantages over other types of reforming, such as partial oxidation (PROX) reformation. Steam reformation does not require oxygen, while up to 25 percent can be lost in PROX reformation due to unusable CO (sub 2) reformation. NASA's Johnson Space Center has conducted various phases of steam methane reformation testing, as a viable solution for in-space reformation. This has included using two different types of catalysts, developing a custom reformer, and optimizing the test system to find the optimal performance parameters and operating conditions.

Supported Catalysts for CO2 Methanation: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrizia Frontera

2017-02-01

Full Text Available CO2 methanation is a well-known reaction that is of interest as a capture and storage (CCS process and as a renewable energy storage system based on a power-to-gas conversion process by substitute or synthetic natural gas (SNG production. Integrating water electrolysis and CO2 methanation is a highly effective way to store energy produced by renewables sources. The conversion of electricity into methane takes place via two steps: hydrogen is produced by electrolysis and converted to methane by CO2 methanation. The effectiveness and efficiency of power-to-gas plants strongly depend on the CO2 methanation process. For this reason, research on CO2 methanation has intensified over the last 10 years. The rise of active, selective, and stable catalysts is the core of the CO2 methanation process. Novel, heterogeneous catalysts have been tested and tuned such that the CO2 methanation process increases their productivity. The present work aims to give a critical overview of CO2 methanation catalyst production and research carried out in the last 50 years. The fundamentals of reaction mechanism, catalyst deactivation, and catalyst promoters, as well as a discussion of current and future developments in CO2 methanation, are also included.

Carbon Monoxide Information Center

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... main content Languages 简体中文 English Bahasa Indonesia 한국어 Español ภาษาไทย Tiếng Việt Text Size: Decrease Font Increase ... Monoxide Information Center Carbon Monoxide Information Center En Español The Invisible Killer Carbon monoxide, also known as ...

Cleaning and conditioning of the walls of plasma devices by glow discharges in hydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waelbroeck, F.; Winter, J.; Ali-Khan, I.; Wienhold, P.; Dietz, K.J.

1980-12-01

The influence of a number of parameters on the cleaning and preconditioning efficiency of a combined rf and glow (RG) discharge is studied experimentally. The emphasis is laid on problems of oxygen removal from the surface. The important parameters are the wall temperature Tsub(W), the pump speed SP, the current Isub(G)D of the glow discharge and the hydrogen pressure P 2 . In a device with a ratio SP/S = 0,1 ms -1 (S: inner area), a rapid deoxidation is achieved when T-W >= 200 0 C. At room temperature, the oxide layer is reduced from a (carbon-free) surface when 1 to 2% of methane is added to the hydrogen: carbon monoxide is formed and evacuated. Admixture of other gases such as He, Ne do not increase the cleaning efficiency. An equation derived from a simplified model describes semi-quantitatively the observed parametric dependances. The tendency for arc spots to occur during the initial phases of the discharge depends on the preconditioning of the wall: a prolonged bake-out at 200 0 C leads to the non-appearance of arcs in all cases examined. Problems arise when a quadrupole residual gas analyser is used to measure the partial pressure of water in hydrogen. These are analysed and a conditioning technique is described which has proven to be appropriate in our measurements. (orig.)

Methane, carbon monoxide, and ammonia in brown dwarfs and self-luminous giant planets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zahnle, Kevin J.; Marley, Mark S., E-mail: Kevin.J.Zahnle@NASA.gov, E-mail: Mark.S.Marley@NASA.gov [NASA Ames Research Center, MS-245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)

2014-12-10

We address disequilibrium abundances of some simple molecules in the atmospheres of solar composition brown dwarfs and self-luminous extrasolar giant planets using a kinetics-based one-dimensional atmospheric chemistry model. Our approach is to use the full kinetics model to survey the parameter space with effective temperatures between 500 K and 1100 K. In all of these worlds, equilibrium chemistry favors CH{sub 4} over CO in the parts of the atmosphere that can be seen from Earth, but in most disequilibrium favors CO. The small surface gravity of a planet strongly discriminates against CH{sub 4} when compared to an otherwise comparable brown dwarf. If vertical mixing is like Jupiter's, the transition from methane to CO occurs at 500 K in a planet. Sluggish vertical mixing can raise this to 600 K, but clouds or more vigorous vertical mixing could lower this to 400 K. The comparable thresholds in brown dwarfs are 1100 ± 100 K. Ammonia is also sensitive to gravity, but, unlike CH{sub 4}/CO, the NH{sub 3}/N{sub 2} ratio is insensitive to mixing, which makes NH{sub 3} a potential proxy for gravity. HCN may become interesting in high-gravity brown dwarfs with very strong vertical mixing. Detailed analysis of the CO-CH{sub 4} reaction network reveals that the bottleneck to CO hydrogenation goes through methanol, in partial agreement with previous work. Simple, easy to use quenching relations are derived by fitting to the complete chemistry of the full ensemble of models. These relations are valid for determining CO, CH{sub 4}, NH{sub 3}, HCN, and CO{sub 2} abundances in the range of self-luminous worlds we have studied, but may not apply if atmospheres are strongly heated at high altitudes by processes not considered here (e.g., wave breaking).

Decarbonisation of fossil energy via methane pyrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreysa, G.; Agar, D.W.; Schultz, I. [Technische Univ. Dortmund (Germany)

2010-12-30

Despite the rising consumption of energy over the last few decades, the proven reserves of fossil fuels have steadily increased. Additionally, there are potentially tremendous reserves of methane hydrates available, which remain to be exploited. The use of fossil energy sources is thus increasingly being dictated less by supply than by the environmental concerns raised by climate change. In the context of the decarbonisation of the global energy system that this has stimulated, new means must be explored for using methane as energy source. Noncatalytic thermal pyrolysis of methane is proposed here as a promising concept for utilising methane with low to zero carbon dioxide emissions. Following cracking, only the energy content of the hydrogen is used, while the carbon can be stored safely and retrievably in disused coal mines. The thermodynamics and different process engineering concepts for the technical realisation of such a carbon moratorium technology are discussed. The possible contribution of methane pyrolysis to carbon negative geoengineering is also addressed. (orig.)

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Science.gov (United States)

... Animals can also be poisoned by carbon monoxide. People who have pets at home may notice that their animals become ... or unresponsive from carbon monoxide exposure. Often the pets will ... these conditions. This can lead to a delay in getting help.

Thermophilic Alkaline Fermentation Followed by Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion for Efficient Hydrogen and Methane Production from Waste-Activated Sludge: Dynamics of Bacterial Pathogens as Revealed by the Combination of Metagenomic and Quantitative PCR Analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Jingjing; Jing, Yuhang; Rao, Yue; Zhang, Shicheng; Luo, Gang

2018-03-15

Thermophilic alkaline fermentation followed by mesophilic anaerobic digestion (TM) for hydrogen and methane production from waste-activated sludge (WAS) was investigated. The TM process was also compared to a process with mesophilic alkaline fermentation followed by a mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MM) and one-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion (M) process. The results showed that both hydrogen yield (74.5 ml H 2 /g volatile solids [VS]) and methane yield (150.7 ml CH 4 /g VS) in the TM process were higher than those (6.7 ml H 2 /g VS and 127.8 ml CH 4 /g VS, respectively) in the MM process. The lowest methane yield (101.2 ml CH 4 /g VS) was obtained with the M process. Taxonomic results obtained from metagenomic analysis showed that different microbial community compositions were established in the hydrogen reactors of the TM and MM processes, which also significantly changed the microbial community compositions in the following methane reactors compared to that with the M process. The dynamics of bacterial pathogens were also evaluated. For the TM process, the reduced diversity and total abundance of bacterial pathogens in WAS were observed in the hydrogen reactor and were further reduced in the methane reactor, as revealed by metagenomic analysis. The results also showed not all bacterial pathogens were reduced in the reactors. For example, Collinsella aerofaciens was enriched in the hydrogen reactor, which was also confirmed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis. The study further showed that qPCR was more sensitive for detecting bacterial pathogens than metagenomic analysis. Although there were some differences in the relative abundances of bacterial pathogens calculated by metagenomic and qPCR approaches, both approaches demonstrated that the TM process was more efficient for the removal of bacterial pathogens than the MM and M processes. IMPORTANCE This study developed an efficient process for bioenergy (H 2 and CH 4 ) production from WAS and elucidates the

Hydrogen recovery process

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Richard W.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; He, Zhenjie; Pinnau, Ingo

2000-01-01

A treatment process for a hydrogen-containing off-gas stream from a refinery, petrochemical plant or the like. The process includes three separation steps: condensation, membrane separation and hydrocarbon fraction separation. The membrane separation step is characterized in that it is carried out under conditions at which the membrane exhibits a selectivity in favor of methane over hydrogen of at least about 2.5.

Catalytic production of hydrogen from methanol for mobile, stationary and portable fuel-cell power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukyanov, Boris N

2008-01-01

Main catalytic processes for hydrogen production from methanol are considered. Various schemes of fuel processors for hydrogen production in stationary, mobile and portable power plants based on fuel cells are analysed. The attention is focussed on the design of catalytic reactors of fuel processors and on the state-of-the-art in the design of catalysts for methanol conversion, carbon monoxide steam conversion and carbon monoxide selective oxidation. Prospects for the use of methanol in on-board fuel processors are discussed.

2D heat and mass transfer modeling of methane steam reforming for hydrogen production in a compact reformer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni Meng

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A heat and mass transfer model is developed for a compact reformer. ► Hydrogen production from methane steam reforming is simulated. ► Increasing temperature greatly increases the reaction rates at the inlet. ► Temperature in the downstream is increased at higher rate of heat supply. ► Larger permeability enhances gas flow and reaction rates in the catalyst layer. - Abstract: Compact reformers (CRs) are promising devices for efficient fuel processing. In CRs, a thin solid plate is sandwiched between two catalyst layers to enable efficient heat transfer from combustion duct to the reforming duct for fuel processing. In this study, a 2D heat and mass transfer model is developed to investigate the fundamental transport phenomenon and chemical reaction kinetics in a CR for hydrogen production by methane steam reforming (MSR). Both MSR reaction and water gas shift reaction (WGSR) are considered in the numerical model. Parametric simulations are performed to examine the effects of various structural/operating parameters, such as pore size, permeability, gas velocity, temperature, and rate of heat supply on the reformer performance. It is found that the reaction rates of MSR and WGSR are the highest at the inlet but decrease significantly along the reformer. Increasing the operating temperature raises the reaction rates at the inlet but shows very small influence in the downstream. For comparison, increasing the rate of heat supply raises the reaction rates in the downstream due to increased temperature. A high gas velocity and permeability facilitates gas transport in the porous structure thus enhances reaction rates in the downstream of the reformer.

Methane impurity production in the fusion reactor environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, P.T.

1984-11-01

Fusion requires temperatures of the order of 10 8 degrees C. In order to attain the required temperature it will be essential to minimise the energy losses from the plasma. Impurities are a major cause of plasma cooling. Ionization of impurity species in the plasma leads to a subsequent decay and emission of radiation. The most common low Z contaminants to be consideed are water and methane produced by reaction of hydrogen isotopes with oxygen and carbon. This review focuses on the methane production problem. We will be concerned with the sources of carbon in the reactor and also with the reactivity of carbon with hydrogen molecules, atoms and ions and the synergistic effects which can arise from coincident fluxes of electrons and photons and the effects of radiation-induced damage of the materials involved. While the reactor first wall will provide the most hostile environment for methane producton, most of the reactions discussed can occur in breeder blankets and also in other tritium facilities such as fuel handling, purification and storage facilities

Low-cost process for hydrogen production

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Chang Y.; Bauer, Hans F.; Grimes, Robert W.

1993-01-01

A method is provided for producing hydrogen and carbon black from hydrocarbon gases comprising mixing the hydrocarbon gases with a source of carbon and applying radiofrequency energy to the mixture. The hydrocarbon gases and the carbon can both be the products of gasification of coal, particularly the mild gasification of coal. A method is also provided for producing hydrogen an carbon monoxide by treating a mixture of hydrocarbon gases and steam with radio-frequency energy.

Decentralized production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons with reduced CO2 emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazim Muradov; Franklyn Smith; Cunping Huang; Ali T-Raissi

2006-01-01

Currently, most of the industrial hydrogen production is based on steam methane reforming process that releases significant amount of CO 2 into the atmosphere. CO 2 sequestration is one approach to solving the CO 2 emission problem for large centralized hydrogen plants, but it would be impractical for decentralized H 2 production units. The objective of this paper is to explore new routes to hydrogen production from natural gas without (or drastically reduced) CO 2 emissions. One approach analyzed in this paper is based on thermo-catalytic decomposition (TCD) of hydrocarbons (e.g., methane) to hydrogen gas and elemental carbon. The paper discusses some technological aspects of the TCD process development: (1) thermodynamic analysis of TCD using AspenPlus chemical process simulator, (2) heat input options to the endothermic process, (3) catalyst activity issues, etc. Production of hydrogen and carbon via TCD of methane was experimentally verified using carbon-based catalysts. (authors)

Carbon and hydrogen isotope composition and C-14 concentration in methane from sources and from the atmosphere: Implications for a global methane budget

Science.gov (United States)

Wahlen, Martin

1994-01-01

The topics covered include the following: biogenic methane studies; forest soil methane uptake; rice field methane sources; atmospheric measurements; stratospheric samples; Antarctica; California; and Germany.

Decomposition of methane to hydrogen using nanosecond pulsed plasma reactor with different active volumes, voltages and frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalifeh, Omid; Mosallanejad, Amin; Taghvaei, Hamed; Rahimpour, Mohammad Reza; Shariati, Alireza

2016-01-01

Highlights: • CH 4 conversion into H 2 is investigated in a nanosecond pulsed DBD reactor. • The absence of CO and CO 2 in the product gas is highly favorable. • Effects of external electrode length, applied voltage and frequency are examined. • The maximum efficiency of 7.23% is achieved at the electrode length of 15 cm. • The maximum CH 4 conversion of 87.2% is obtained at discharge power 268.92 W. - Abstract: In this paper, the methane conversion into hydrogen is investigated experimentally in a nanosecond pulsed DBD reactor. In order to achieve pure hydrogen production with minimum power consumption, effects of some operating parameters including external electrode length, applied voltage and pulse repetition frequency have been evaluated. Results show that although higher CH 4 conversion and H 2 concentration can be obtained at longer electrode lengths, higher applied voltages and pulse repetition frequencies, these parameters should be optimized for efficient hydrogen production. Actually, the maximum CH 4 conversion of 87.2% and maximum hydrogen percentage of 80% are obtained at the external electrode length, discharge power, voltage and frequency of 15 cm, 268.92 W, 12 kV and 10 kHz, respectively. However, the maximum efficiency of 7.23% is achieved at the external electrode length of 15 cm, applied voltage of 6 kV, pulse repetition frequency of 0.9 kHz and discharge power of 4 W. Furthermore, at this condition, due to low temperature of discharge zone very little amount of solid carbon was observed on the inner electrode surface of the reactor.

Operation of a two-stage continuous fermentation process producing hydrogen and methane from artificial food wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagai, Kohki; Mizuno, Shiho; Umeda, Yoshito; Sakka, Makiko [Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan); Osaka, Noriko [Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. (Japan); Sakka, Kazuo [Mie Univ. (Japan)

2010-07-01

An anaerobic two-stage continuous fermentation process with combined thermophilic hydrogenogenic and methanogenic stages (two-stage fermentation process) was applied to artificial food wastes on a laboratory scale. In this report, organic loading rate (OLR) conditions for hydrogen fermentation were optimized before operating the two-stage fermentation process. The OLR was set at 11.2, 24.3, 35.2, 45.6, 56.1, and 67.3 g-COD{sub cr} L{sup -1} day{sup -1} with a temperature of 60 C, pH5.5 and 5.0% total solids. As a result, approximately 1.8-2.0 mol-H{sub 2} mol-hexose{sup -1} was obtained at the OLR of 11.2-56.1 g-COD{sub cr} L{sup -1} day{sup -1}. In contrast, it was inferred that the hydrogen yield at the OLR of 67.3 g-COD{sub cr} L{sup -1} day{sup -1} decreased because of an increase in lactate concentration in the culture medium. The performance of the two-stage fermentation process was also evaluated over three months. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) of methane fermentation was able to be shortened 5.0 days (under OLR 12.4 g-COD{sub cr} L{sup -1} day{sup -1} conditions) when the OLR of hydrogen fermentation was 44.0 g-COD{sub cr} L{sup -1} day{sup -1}, and the average gasification efficiency of the two-stage fermentation process was 81% at the time. (orig.)

Biohydrogen and methane production by co-digestion of cassava stillage and excess sludge under thermophilic condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wen; Xie, Li; Chen, Jinrong; Luo, Gang; Zhou, Qi

2011-02-01

Thermophilic anaerobic hydrogen and methane production by co-digestion of cassava stillage (CS) and excess sludge (ES) was investigated in this study. The improved hydrogen and subsequent methane production were observed by co-digestion of CS with certain amount of ES in batch experiments. Compared with one phase anaerobic digestion, two phase anaerobic digestion offered an attractive alternative with more abundant biogas production and energy yield, e.g., the total energy yield in two phase obtained at VS(CS)/VS(ES) of 3:1 was 25% higher than the value of one phase. Results from continuous experiments further demonstrated that VS(CS)/VS(ES) of 3:1 was optimal for hydrogen production with the highest hydrogen yield of 74 mL/gtotal VS added, the balanced nutrient condition with C/N ratio of 1.5 g carbohydrate-COD/gprotein-COD or 11.9 g C/gN might be the main reason for such enhancement. VS(CS)/VS(ES) of 3:1 was also optimal for continuous methane production considering the higher methane yield of 350 mL/gtotal VS added and the lower propionate concentration in the effluent. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamics of Hydrogen Production from Dimethyl Ether Steam Reforming and Hydrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T.A. Semelsberger

2004-10-01

The thermodynamic analyses of producing a hydrogen-rich fuel-cell feed from the process of dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming were investigated as a function of steam-to-carbon ratio (0-4), temperature (100 C-600 C), pressure (1-5 atm), and product species: acetylene, ethanol, methanol, ethylene, methyl-ethyl ether, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetone, n-propanol, ethane and isopropyl alcohol. Results of the thermodynamic processing of dimethyl ether with steam indicate the complete conversion of dimethyl ether to hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide for temperatures greater than 200 C and steam-to-carbon ratios greater than 1.25 at atmospheric pressure (P = 1 atm). Increasing the operating pressure was observed to shift the equilibrium toward the reactants; increasing the pressure from 1 atm to 5 atm decreased the conversion of dimethyl ether from 99.5% to 76.2%. The order of thermodynamically stable products in decreasing mole fraction was methane, ethane, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, n-propanol, ethylene, ethanol, methyl-ethyl ether and methanol--formaldehyde, formic acid, and acetylene were not observed. The optimal processing conditions for dimethyl ether steam reforming occurred at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 1.5, a pressure of 1 atm, and a temperature of 200 C. Modeling the thermodynamics of dimethyl ether hydrolysis (with methanol as the only product considered), the equilibrium conversion of dimethyl ether is limited. The equilibrium conversion was observed to increase with temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio, resulting in a maximum dimethyl ether conversion of approximately 68% at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 4.5 and a processing temperature of 600 C. Thermodynamically, dimethyl ether processed with steam can produce hydrogen-rich fuel-cell feeds--with hydrogen concentrations exceeding 70%. This substantiates dimethyl ether as a viable source of hydrogen for PEM fuel cells.

Biological hydrogen production from industrial wastewaters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peixoto, Guilherme; Pantoja Filho, Jorge Luis Rodrigues; Zaiat, Marcelo [Universidade de Sao Paulo (EESC/USP), Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil). School of Engineering. Dept. Hydraulics and Sanitation], Email: peixoto@sc.usp.br

2010-07-01

This research evaluates the potential for producing hydrogen in anaerobic reactors using industrial wastewaters (glycerol from bio diesel production, wastewater from the parboilization of rice, and vinasse from ethanol production). In a complementary experiment the soluble products formed during hydrogen production were evaluated for methane generation. The assays were performed in batch reactors with 2 liters volume, and sucrose was used as a control substrate. The acidogenic inoculum was taken from a packed-bed reactor used to produce hydrogen from a sucrose-based synthetic substrate. The methanogenic inoculum was taken from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating poultry slaughterhouse wastewater. Hydrogen was produced from rice parboilization wastewater (24.27 ml H{sub 2} g{sup -1} COD) vinasse (22.75 ml H{sub 2} g{sup -1} COD) and sucrose (25.60 ml H{sub 2} g{sup -1} COD), while glycerol only showed potential for methane generation. (author)

Carbon potential measurement on the Mo-MoC0.47 system by methane - hydrogen equilibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ananthasivan, K.; Kaliappan, I.; Chandramouli, V.; Anthonysamy, S.; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.; Mathews, C.K.

1993-01-01

Uranium plutonium mixed carbides are potential candidate fuel materials for liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors. The carbon potential of the fuel is an important thermochemical property which strongly influences the carbon transport between the clad and the fuel. The carbon potential of the fuel is altered during irradiation of the fuel in the reactor. This is due to the formation of various fission products and their binary and ternary carbides. Molybdenum is a fission product with a high yield which can alter the carbon potential of the fuel. The present work forms part of our studies on the carbon potential measurements in the U - Mo - C ternary system. The carbon potential of the Mo-Mo 2 C couple measured by the methane hydrogen gas equilibration technique is presented here and the results are compared with the values cited in the literature. (author)

Pentagonal dodecahedron methane hydrate cage and methanol ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

methane hydrate in sea bed near continental margin and underneath of permafrost ... clathrate structure,6,7 IR spectroscopy analysis of vibra- tional form of guest .... Hydrogen (H71) of the hydroxyl group of methanol is found to have formed ...

Anaerobic digestion of glucose with separated acid production and methane formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, R J; Zoetemeyer, R J; Van Deursen, A; Van Andel, J G

1979-01-01

In a two-phase anaerobic-digestion system, with separate reactors for the acidification and methane fermentation phases, the glucose of a 1% glucose solution was almost completely converted into biomass and gases. The acid reactor was operated at 30/sup 0/C and a pH of 6.0, with a retention time of 10 h. The main products of the acid-forming phase were hydrogen, carbon dioxide, butyrate and acetate. On a molar base, these products represented over 96% of all products formed. On average, 12% of the COD content of the influent was evolved as hydrogen. The effluent of the first reactor was pumped to the methane reactor after passing through a storage vessel. The methane reactor was operated at 30/sup 0/C, pH 7.8 and a retention time of 100 h. Approximately 98% of the organic substances fed to this reactor were converted to methane, carbon dioxide and biomass. About 11% of the glucose fed to the digesting system was converted to bacterial mass.

Catalytic methanol dissociation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcinikov, Y.; Fainberg, V.; Garbar, A.; Gutman, M.; Hetsroni, G.; Shindler, Y.; Tatrtakovsky, L.; Zvirin, Y.

1998-01-01

Results of the methanol dissociation study on copper/potassium catalyst with alumina support at various temperatures are presented. The following gaseous and liquid products at. The catalytic methanol dissociation is obtained: hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and dimethyl ether. Formation rates of these products are discussed. Activation energies of corresponding reactions are calculated

Irradiation of Methane by Recoiling Fission-Fragments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, G. R.; Galley, M. R. [Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (United Kingdom)

1963-11-15

Pure methane gas (containing <0.003% oxygen and <5 mg H{sub 2}O per m{sup 3}) has been irradiated at pressures ranging from 5 to 50 atmospheres pressure and at 30{sup o}C with recoiling fission - fragments. The gas is contained in a silica ampoule of volume about 9 cm{sup 3} and which also contains a platinum cylinder coated on the inside with 0.5 mg/cm{sup 2} highly enriched uranium oxide. When the ampoule is irradiated in a nuclear reactor with thermal neutrons, about half the fission-fragments recoil from the uranium and dissipate their energy in the methane. In a typical irradiation, methane at 10 atm pressure receives a dose of 5 x 10{sup 21} eV at an integrated reactor flux of 5 x 10{sup 15} neutrons/cm{sup 2}. Neutron flux i s measured by means of a gold-foil flux monitor. The activity of the Au{sup 198} is counted in a 4 {pi} proportional counter. The irradiation products have been detected by using beta-ionization detectors for gas-phase chromatography with suitable columns. The following products have been found: hydrogen, ethane, propane, n-butane, isobutane, n-pentane, iso-pentane, neo-pentane, the seven hexanes. Traces of higher hydrocarbons are undoubtedly present but the analysis of these has not been attempted. Hydrogen is present in greatest yield and the yields of the hydrocarbons decrease in the order given above. Despite previously reported yields of ethylene (G-value-0.1) from gamma and fast - electron irradiations, no ethylene or other unsaturated products have been detected in this work. It would have been possible to detect 10 ppm in the products. This is to be expected as any double bonds which may be produced would almost immediately be hydrogenated by the hydrogen present. Yields for hydrogen, ethane and propane lie within the range of values that have been reported by other workers for gamma and fast electron irradiations. (author)

Occult carbon monoxide poisoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkpatrick, J N

1987-01-01

A syndrome of headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, chest pain, palpitations and visual disturbances was associated with chronic occult carbon monoxide exposure in 26 patients in a primary care setting. A causal association was supported by finding a source of carbon monoxide in a patient's home, workplace or vehicle; results of screening tests that ruled out other illnesses; an abnormally high carboxyhemoglobin level in 11 of 14 patients tested, and abatement or resolution of symptoms when the source of carbon monoxide was removed. Exposed household pets provided an important clue to the diagnosis in some cases. Recurrent occult carbon monoxide poisoning may be a frequently overlooked cause of persistent or recurrent headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, abdominal pain, diarrhea and unusual spells.

Tuneable diode laser gas analyser for methane measurements on a large scale solid oxide fuel cell

Science.gov (United States)

Lengden, Michael; Cunningham, Robert; Johnstone, Walter

2011-10-01

A new in-line, real time gas analyser is described that uses tuneable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) for the measurement of methane in solid oxide fuel cells. The sensor has been tested on an operating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in order to prove the fast response and accuracy of the technology as compared to a gas chromatograph. The advantages of using a TDLS system for process control in a large-scale, distributed power SOFC unit are described. In future work, the addition of new laser sources and wavelength modulation will allow the simultaneous measurement of methane, water vapour, carbon-dioxide and carbon-monoxide concentrations.

Sustainable fuel production by thermocatalytic decomposition of methane – A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Srilatha

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Thermocatalytic Decomposition of Methane (TCD is a completely green single step technology for producing hydrogen and carbon nanomaterials. This paper review about the research in laboratory-scale on TCD, specifically the recent advances like co-feeding effect and regeneration of catalyst for enhancing the productivity of the entire process. Although a remarkable success on the laboratory-scale has been fulfilled, TCD for free greenhouse gas (GHG hydrogen production is still in its infancy. The necessity for commercialization of TCD is more than ever in the present-day condition of massive GHG emission. TCD generally studied over several types of catalysts, for example mono, bi, trimetallic, combination of metal–metal oxide, carbon and metal doped carbon catalysts. Catalyst Deactivation is the main problem found in TCD process. Regeneration of catalyst and co-feeding of methane with other hydrocarbon are the two main solutions placed helped in accordance to overcome deactivation problem. Higher amount of co-feed hydrocarbon in situ produce more amount of highly active carbon deposits which support further methane decomposition to produce extra hydrogen. The conversion rate of methane increases with increasing temperature and decreases with the flow rate in the co-feeding process in a comparable manner as observed in normal TCD. The presence of co-components in the post-reaction stream is an important challenge attempted in the co-feeding and regeneration. Keywords: Hydrogen, Catalysts, Thermocatalytic decomposition

Bio-hydrogen production from renewable organic wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shihwu Sung

2004-04-30

Methane fermentation has been in practice over a century for the stabilization of high strength organic waste/wastewater. Although methanogenesis is a well established process and methane--the end-product of methanogenesis is a useful energy source; it is a low value end product with relatively less energy content (about 56 kJ energy/g CH{sub 4}). Besides, methane and its combustion by-product are powerful greenhouse gases, and responsible for global climate change. So there is a pressing need to explore alternative environmental technologies that not only stabilize the waste/wastewater but also generate benign high value end products. From this perspective, anaerobic bioconversion of organic wastes to hydrogen gas is an attractive option that achieves both goals. From energy security stand point, generation of hydrogen energy from renewable organic waste/wastewater could substitute non-renewable fossil fuels, over two-third of which is imported from politically unstable countries. Thus, biological hydrogen production from renewable organic waste through dark fermentation represents a critically important area of bioenergy production. This study evaluated both process engineering and microbial physiology of biohydrogen production.

C-13 isotopic studies of the surface catalysed reactions of methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, M.A.; He, S.J.X.; Adebajo, M.

1997-01-01

The ability of methane to methylate aromatic compounds, which are considered to be models for coal, is being studied. Related to this reaction, but at higher temperatures, is the direct formation of benzene from methane in the presence of these catalysts. Controversy exists in the literature on the former reaction, and 13 C isotope studies are being used to resolve the question. The interest in this reaction arises because the utilisation of methane, in the form of natural gas, in place of hydrogen for direct coal liquefaction would have major economic advantage. For this reason Isotope studies in this area have contributed significantly to an understanding of the methylation reactions. The paper describes experiments utilising methane 13 C, which show that methylation of aromatics such as naphthalene by the methane 13 C is catalysed by microporous, Cu-exchanged SAPO-5, at elevated pressures (6.8 MPa) and temperatures around 400 degree C. The mass spectrometric analysis and n.m.r. study of the isotopic composition of the products of the methylation reaction demonstrate unequivocally that methane provides the additional carbon atom for the methylated products. Thermodynamic calculations predict that the reaction is favourable at high methane pressures under these experimental conditions. The mechanism as suggested by the isotope study is discussed. The catalysts which show activity for the activation of methane for direct methylation of organic compounds, such as naphthalene, toluene, phenol and pyrene, are substituted aluminophosphate molecular sieves, EIAPO-5 (where El=Pb, Cu, Ni and Si) and a number of metal substituted zeolites. Our earlier tritium studies had shown that these catalysts will activate alkanes, at least as far as isotope hydrogen exchange reactions are concerned

Effects of acetylene and carbon monoxide on long-term hydrogen production by Mastigocladus laminosus, a thermophilic blue-green alga

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miura, Y; Yokoyama, H; Takahara, K; Miyamoto, K

1982-01-01

Long-term H/sub 2/ production by a thermophilic and heterocystous blue-green alga (cyanobacterium) Mastigocladus laminosus was studied under the conditions when acetylene and carbon monoxide were supplemented to the gas phase of the culture vessel. The addition of both gases enhanced H/sub 2/ evolution by nitrogen-starved cells. The concentrations of acetylene and carbon monoxide in the gas phase of argon/CO/sub 2/ (97.5/2.5) were 10% and 0.2 to 1%, respectively, for the maximum H/sub 2/ production. Renewals of the gas phase, in addition to the addition of acetylene and carbon monoxide, were necessary for durable H/sub 2/ production. Since the concentrations of both H/sub 2/ and O/sub 2/ accumulated in the gas phase were minimized after the renewals, the H/sub 2/ uptake activity, which was not completely inhibited by acetylene and carbon monoxide, was reduced and thereby H/sub 2/ evolution was restored. Under such conditions, H/sub 2/ production for up to 20 days was observed under argon and N/sub 2/ atmospheres with average rats of 3.9 and 3.3..mu..l/mg dry wt/h, respectively. H/sub 2/ evolution for 15 days was observed even under an air atmosphere containing acetylene and carbon monoxide. It was thus shown that prolonged production of H/sub 2/ was possible by the use of a blue-green alga which exhibits a high activity of H/sub 2/ uptake under nitrogen-starved conditions.

Optimization of biohydrogen and methane recovery within a cassava ethanol wastewater/waste integrated management system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Wen; Xie, Li; Luo, Gang

2012-01-01

Thermophilic co-fermentation of cassava stillage (CS) and cassava excess sludge (CES) were investigated for hydrogen and methane production. The highest hydrogen yield (37.1 ml/g-total-VS added) was obtained at VSCS/VSCES of 7:1, 17% higher than that with CS digestion alone. The CES recycle......, and the acetobacteria percentage increased to 12.4% at VSCS/VSCES of 6:2. Relatively high efficient and stable hydrogen production was observed at VSCS/VSCES of 5:3 without pH adjusted and any pretreatment. The highest total energy yield, the highest COD and VS degradation were obtained at VSCS/VSCES of 7:1. GFC...... analysis indicated that the hydrolysis behavior was significantly improved by CES recycle at both hydrogen and methane production phase....

Life in hot carbon monoxide: the complete genome sequence of Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Martin; Ren, Qinghu; Durkin, A Scott; Daugherty, Sean C; Brinkac, Lauren M; Dodson, Robert J; Madupu, Ramana; Sullivan, Steven A; Kolonay, James F; Haft, Daniel H; Nelson, William C; Tallon, Luke J; Jones, Kristine M; Ulrich, Luke E; Gonzalez, Juan M; Zhulin, Igor B; Robb, Frank T; Eisen, Jonathan A

2005-11-01

We report here the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the thermophilic bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901. This species is a model for studies of hydrogenogens, which are diverse bacteria and archaea that grow anaerobically utilizing carbon monoxide (CO) as their sole carbon source and water as an electron acceptor, producing carbon dioxide and hydrogen as waste products. Organisms that make use of CO do so through carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes. Remarkably, analysis of the genome of C. hydrogenoformans reveals the presence of at least five highly differentiated anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes, which may in part explain how this species is able to grow so much more rapidly on CO than many other species. Analysis of the genome also has provided many general insights into the metabolism of this organism which should make it easier to use it as a source of biologically produced hydrogen gas. One surprising finding is the presence of many genes previously found only in sporulating species in the Firmicutes Phylum. Although this species is also a Firmicutes, it was not known to sporulate previously. Here we show that it does sporulate and because it is missing many of the genes involved in sporulation in other species, this organism may serve as a "minimal" model for sporulation studies. In addition, using phylogenetic profile analysis, we have identified many uncharacterized gene families found in all known sporulating Firmicutes, but not in any non-sporulating bacteria, including a sigma factor not known to be involved in sporulation previously.

Life in Hot Carbon Monoxide: The Complete Genome Sequence of Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2005-11-01

Full Text Available We report here the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the thermophilic bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901. This species is a model for studies of hydrogenogens, which are diverse bacteria and archaea that grow anaerobically utilizing carbon monoxide (CO as their sole carbon source and water as an electron acceptor, producing carbon dioxide and hydrogen as waste products. Organisms that make use of CO do so through carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes. Remarkably, analysis of the genome of C. hydrogenoformans reveals the presence of at least five highly differentiated anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes, which may in part explain how this species is able to grow so much more rapidly on CO than many other species. Analysis of the genome also has provided many general insights into the metabolism of this organism which should make it easier to use it as a source of biologically produced hydrogen gas. One surprising finding is the presence of many genes previously found only in sporulating species in the Firmicutes Phylum. Although this species is also a Firmicutes, it was not known to sporulate previously. Here we show that it does sporulate and because it is missing many of the genes involved in sporulation in other species, this organism may serve as a "minimal" model for sporulation studies. In addition, using phylogenetic profile analysis, we have identified many uncharacterized gene families found in all known sporulating Firmicutes, but not in any non-sporulating bacteria, including a sigma factor not known to be involved in sporulation previously.

Life in hot carbon monoxide: the complete genome sequence of Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Wu

2005-11-01

Full Text Available We report here the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the thermophilic bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans Z-2901. This species is a model for studies of hydrogenogens, which are diverse bacteria and archaea that grow anaerobically utilizing carbon monoxide (CO as their sole carbon source and water as an electron acceptor, producing carbon dioxide and hydrogen as waste products. Organisms that make use of CO do so through carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes. Remarkably, analysis of the genome of C. hydrogenoformans reveals the presence of at least five highly differentiated anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complexes, which may in part explain how this species is able to grow so much more rapidly on CO than many other species. Analysis of the genome also has provided many general insights into the metabolism of this organism which should make it easier to use it as a source of biologically produced hydrogen gas. One surprising finding is the presence of many genes previously found only in sporulating species in the Firmicutes Phylum. Although this species is also a Firmicutes, it was not known to sporulate previously. Here we show that it does sporulate and because it is missing many of the genes involved in sporulation in other species, this organism may serve as a "minimal" model for sporulation studies. In addition, using phylogenetic profile analysis, we have identified many uncharacterized gene families found in all known sporulating Firmicutes, but not in any non-sporulating bacteria, including a sigma factor not known to be involved in sporulation previously.

BIG hydrogen: hydrogen technology in the oil and gas sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The BIG Hydrogen workshop was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on February 13, 2006. About 60 representatives of industry, academia and government attended this one-day technical meeting on hydrogen production for the oil and gas industry. The following themes were identified from the presentations and discussion: the need to find a BIG hydrogen replacement for Steam Methane Reformer (SMR) because of uncertainty regarding cost and availability of natural gas, although given the maturity of SMR process (reliability, known capital cost) how high will H2 prices have to rise?; need for a national strategy to link the near-term and the longer-term hydrogen production requirements, which can take hydrogen from chemical feedstock to energy carrier; and in the near-term Canada should get involved in demonstrations and build expertise in large hydrogen systems including production and carbon capture and sequestration

Comparison and evaluation of methods for the determination of flammability limits, applied to methane/hydrogen/air mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoor, F. van den; Hermanns, R.T.E.; Oijen, J.A. van; Verplaetsen, F.; Goey, L.P.H. de

2008-01-01

Different methods, both experimental and numerical, to determine the flammability limits are compared and evaluated, exemplified by a determination of the flammability limits of methane/hydrogen/air mixtures for hydrogen fuel molar fractions of 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6, at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. Two different experimental methods are used. The first method uses a glass tube with visual observation of the flame, whereas the second method uses a closed spherical vessel with a pressure rise criterion to determine whether flame propagation has occurred. In addition to these experiments, the flammability limits are determined numerically. Unsteady planar and spherically expanding flames are calculated with a one-dimensional flame code with the inclusion of radiation heat loss in the optically thin limit. Comparison of the experimental results with the results of the planar flame calculations shows large differences, especially for lean mixtures. These differences increase with increasing hydrogen content in the fuel. Better agreement with the experimental results is found for the spherically expanding flame calculations. A limiting burning velocity of 5 cm/s is found to predict the upper flammability limit determined with the tube method very well, whereas the limiting flame temperature approach was found to give poorer agreement. Further analysis indicates that the neglect of flame front instabilities is the probable cause of the large differences between experimental and numerical results at the lower flammability limit

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alisa Wray

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Audience: This oral boards case is appropriate for all emergency medicine learners (residents, interns, and medical students. Introduction: Carbon monoxide (CO is a colorless and odorless gas that typically results from combustion. It binds hemoglobin, dissociating oxygen, causing headache, weakness, confusion and possible seizure or coma. Pulse oxygen levels may be falsely elevated. Practitioners should maintain a high index of suspicion for carbon monoxide poisoning. If caught early CO poisoning is reversible with oxygen or hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Objectives: The learner will assess a patient with altered mental status and weakness, ultimately identifying that the patient has carbon monoxide poisoning. The learner will treat the patient with oxygen and admit/transfer the patient for hyperbaric oxygenation. Method: Oral boards case

The CHRONOS mission: capability for sub-hourly synoptic observations of carbon monoxide and methane to quantify emissions and transport of air pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, David P.; Worden, Helen M.; Neil, Doreen; Francis, Gene; Valle, Tim; Arellano, Avelino F., Jr.

2018-02-01

The CHRONOS space mission concept provides time-resolved abundance for emissions and transport studies of the highly variable and highly uncertain air pollutants carbon monoxide and methane, with sub-hourly revisit rate at fine (˜ 4 km) horizontal spatial resolution across a North American domain. CHRONOS can provide complete synoptic air pollution maps (snapshots) of the continental domain with less than 10 min of observations. This rapid mapping enables visualization of air pollution transport simultaneously across the entire continent and enables a sentinel-like capability for monitoring evolving, or unanticipated, air pollution sources in multiple locations at the same time with high temporal resolution. CHRONOS uses a compact imaging gas filter correlation radiometer for these observations, with heritage from more than 17 years of scientific data and algorithm advances by the science teams for the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft in low Earth orbit. To achieve continental-scale sub-hourly sampling, the CHRONOS mission would be conducted from geostationary orbit, with the instrument hosted on a communications or meteorological platform. CHRONOS observations would contribute to an integrated observing system for atmospheric composition using surface, suborbital and satellite data with atmospheric chemistry models, as defined by the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites. Addressing the U.S. National Academy's 2007 decadal survey direction to characterize diurnal changes in tropospheric composition, CHRONOS observations would find direct societal applications for air quality management and forecasting to protect public health.

Establishment of analysis method for methane detection by gas chromatography

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xinyuan; Yang, Jie; Ye, Tianyi; Han, Zeyu

2018-02-01

The study focused on the establishment of analysis method for methane determination by gas chromatography. Methane was detected by hydrogen flame ionization detector, and the quantitative relationship was determined by working curve of y=2041.2x+2187 with correlation coefficient of 0.9979. The relative standard deviation of 2.60-6.33% and the recovery rate of 96.36%∼105.89% were obtained during the parallel determination of standard gas. This method was not quite suitable for biogas content analysis because methane content in biogas would be over the measurement range in this method.

Abiotic production of methane in terrestrial planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán-Marmolejo, Andrés; Segura, Antígona; Escobar-Briones, Elva

2013-06-01

On Earth, methane is produced mainly by life, and it has been proposed that, under certain conditions, methane detected in an exoplanetary spectrum may be considered a biosignature. Here, we estimate how much methane may be produced in hydrothermal vent systems by serpentinization, its main geological source, using the kinetic properties of the main reactions involved in methane production by serpentinization. Hydrogen production by serpentinization was calculated as a function of the available FeO in the crust, given the current spreading rates. Carbon dioxide is the limiting reactant for methane formation because it is highly depleted in aqueous form in hydrothermal vent systems. We estimated maximum CH4 surface fluxes of 6.8×10(8) and 1.3×10(9) molecules cm(-2) s(-1) for rocky planets with 1 and 5 M⊕, respectively. Using a 1-D photochemical model, we simulated atmospheres with volume mixing ratios of 0.03 and 0.1 CO2 to calculate atmospheric methane concentrations for the maximum production of this compound by serpentinization. The resulting abundances were 2.5 and 2.1 ppmv for 1 M⊕ planets and 4.1 and 3.7 ppmv for 5 M⊕ planets. Therefore, low atmospheric concentrations of methane may be produced by serpentinization. For habitable planets around Sun-like stars with N2-CO2 atmospheres, methane concentrations larger than 10 ppmv may indicate the presence of life.

Anaerobic digestion of gucose with separated acid production and methane formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, A; Zoetemeyer, R J; van Deursen, A; van Andel, J G

1979-01-01

In a two-phase anaerobic-digestion system, with separate reactors for the acidification phase and the methane fermentation phase, the Universiteit van Amsterdam found the glucose of a 1% glucose solution (sucrose/starch-containing wastewater from agricultural industries) to be almost completely converted into biomass and gases. The acid reactor was operated at 86/sup 0/F (30/sup 0/C) and pH 6.0, with a retention time of 10 hr. The main products of the acid-forming phase were hydrogen, carbon dioxide, butyrate, and acetate. On a molar base, these products represented over 96% of all products formed. On the average, 12% of the chemical-oxygen-demand content of the influent was evolved as hydrogen. The effluent of the first reactor went to the methane reactor after passing through a storage vessel. The methane reactor operated at 86/sup 0/F (30/sup 0/C), pH 7.8, and a retention time of 100 hr. Approximately 98% of the organic substances fed to this reactor was converted to methane, carbon dioxide, and biomass. About 11% of the glucose fed to the digesting system was converted to bacterial mass.

Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming of Ethyl Alcohol over Palladium/Indium Oxide Catalyst

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tetsuo Umegaki

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We report the synergetic effect between palladium and indium oxide on hydrogen production in the steam reforming reaction of ethyl alcohol. The palladium/indium oxide catalyst shows higher hydrogen production rate than indium oxide and palladium. Palladium/indium oxide affords ketonization of ethyl alcohol with negligible by-product carbon monoxide, while indium oxide mainly affords dehydration of ethyl alcohol, and palladium affords decomposition of ethyl alcohol with large amount of by-product carbon monoxide. The catalytic feature of palladium/indium oxide can be ascribed to the formation of palladium-indium intermetallic component during the reaction as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements.

Precise structural analysis of methane hydrate by neutron diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igawa, Naoki; Hoshikawa, Akinori; Ishii, Yoshinobu

2006-01-01

Methane hydrate has attracted great interest as an energy resource to replace natural gas since this material is deposited in the seafloor and the deposits are estimated to exceed those of natural gas. Understanding the physical proprieties, such as the temperature dependence of the crystal structure, helps to specify the optimum environmental temperature and pressure during drilling, transport, and storage of methane hydrate. Clathrate hydrates consisted of encaging atomic and/or molecular species as a guest and host water formed by a hydrogen bonding. Although many studies on the clathrate hydrate including methane hydrate were reported, no detailed crystallographic property has yet been cleared. We focused on the motion of methane in the clathrate hydrate by the neutron diffraction. The crystal structure of the methane hydrate was analyzed by the applying the combination of the Rietveld refinement and the maximum entropy method (MEM) to neutron powder diffraction. Temperature dependence of the scattering-length density distribution maps revealed that the motion of methane molecules differs between the shapes of dodecahedron and tetrakaidecahedron. (author)

Plasma Methane Pyrolysis for Spacecraft Oxygen Loop Closure

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Z. W.

2018-01-01

Life support is a critical function of any crewed space vehicle or habitat. Human life support systems on the International Space Station (ISS) include a number of atmosphere revitalization (AR) technologies to provide breathable air and a comfortable living environment to the crew. The Trace Contaminant Control System removes harmful volatile organic compounds and other trace contaminants from the circulating air. The Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) removes metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2) and returns air to the cabin. Humidity is kept at comfortable levels by a number of condensing heat exchangers. The Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) electrolyzes water to produce oxygen for the crew and hydrogen (H2) as a byproduct. A Sabatier reaction-based CO2 Reduction Assembly (CRA) was launched to the ISS in 2009 and became fully operational in June 2011.The CRA interfaces with both the OGA and CDRA. Carbon dioxide from the CDRA is compressed and stored in tanks until hydrogen is available from OGA water electrolysis. When the OGA is operational and there is CO2 available, the CRA is activated and produces methane and water via the Sabatier reaction shown in Equation 1... One approach to achieve these higher recovery rates builds upon the ISS AR architecture and includes adding a methane post-processor to recover H2 from CRA methane. NASA has been developing the Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) to fill the role of a methane post-processor.

Hydrogen Production from Cyclic Chemical Looping Steam Methane Reforming over Yttrium Promoted Ni/SBA-16 Oxygen Carrier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanaz Daneshmand-Jahromi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this work, the modification of Ni/SBA-16 oxygen carrier (OC with yttrium promoter is investigated. The yttrium promoted Ni-based oxygen carrier was synthesized via co-impregnation method and applied in chemical looping steam methane reforming (CL-SMR process, which is used for the production of clean energy carrier. The reaction temperature (500–750 °C, Y loading (2.5–7.4 wt. %, steam/carbon molar ratio (1–5, Ni loading (10–30 wt. % and life time of OCs over 16 cycles at 650 °C were studied to investigate and optimize the structure of OC and process temperature with maximizing average methane conversion and hydrogen production yield. The synthesized OCs were characterized by multiples techniques. The results of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX of reacted OCs showed that the presence of Y particles on the surface of OCs reduces the coke formation. The smaller NiO species were found for the yttrium promoted OC and therefore the distribution of Ni particles was improved. The reduction-oxidation (redox results revealed that 25Ni-2.5Y/SBA-16 OC has the highest catalytic activity of about 99.83% average CH4 conversion and 85.34% H2 production yield at reduction temperature of 650 °C with the steam to carbon molar ratio of 2.

An Eco-Friendly Improved Protocol for the Synthesis of Bis(3-indolyl)methanes Using Poly(4-vinylpyridinium)hydrogen Sulfate as Efficient, Heterogeneous, and Recyclable Solid Acid Catalyst

Science.gov (United States)

Banothu, Janardhan; Gali, Rajitha; Velpula, Ravibabu; Bavantula, Rajitha; Crooks, Peter A.

2013-01-01

Highly efficient and eco-friendly protocol for the synthesis of bis(3-indolyl)methanes by the electrophilic substitution reaction of indole with aldehydes catalyzed by poly(4-vinylpyridinium)hydrogen sulfate was described. Excellent yields, shorter reaction times, simple work-up procedure, avoiding hazardous organic solvents, and reusability of the catalyst are the most obvious advantages of this method. PMID:24052864

A transient kinetic study of nickel-catalyzed methanation: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoost, T.E.; Goodwin, J.G. Jr.

1988-11-01

The results of this study are in two major parts. In Part I the use of steady-state isotopic transients of multiple elements (C, H, and O) under actual methanation reaction conditions has permitted an assessment of the reactivity of water on a Ni powder catalyst. It was concluded based on the addition of isotopic water that oxygen, once reacted to form water, is able to readsorb even where the surface coverage of CO remains high. At the low relative partial pressures of water used, however, there was no effect of added water on the formation of methane. The surface residence time of water determined from isotopic transients contains the residence time on the surface during the primary formation reaction as well as the time spent during readsorption(s). Part II addressed how a catalyst modifier (in this case Cl) affects methanation in CO hydrogenation using steady-state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA) of methanation. The results obtained using silica-supported Ru suggest the structural rearrangements induced by the presence of chlorine, rather than selective site blocking or electronic interactions, may be the primary mechanism of chlorine modification of the catalytic properties of supported metals for CO hydrogenation. SSITKA indicated that the decrease in methanation activity with increasing initial Cl concentration was a function of a decrease in the number of reactive surface intermediates (or sites) and not of a change in site activity. 36 refs., 10 figs., 5 tabs

Concept for lowest emissions of a hydrogen internal combustion engine; Niedrigstemissionskonzept fuer einen wasserstoffbetriebenen Verbrennungsmotor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fouquet, Marcel Christian Thomas

2012-03-15

This paper describes a concept with lowest emissions for a hydrogen internal combustion engine for passenger cars. With optimisation of the combustion concept the level of nitrogen oxide is below 90%, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide below 99% of the SULEV target (CARB). This concept enables a potential in power density that is comparable to current supercharged combustion engines at lowest emission level without catalytic aftertreatment. Additionally with a catalytic aftertreatment system, the emission level of a current hydrogen combustion engine (mono-fuel) is lowered to a level, that this car can be labeled as air cleaning vehicle for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.

Development of methane conversion improvement method by recycling of residual methane for steam reforming as a part of R and D of HTGR-hydrogen production system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inagaki, Yoshiyuki; Haga, Katsuhiro; Aita, Hideki; Sekita, Kenji; Hino, Ryutaro; Koiso, Hiroshi.

1998-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to improve methane conversion for an HTGR-steam reforming system by recycling of residual methane. The residual methane in a product gas after steam reforming was recycled with a gas separator of polyimide membrane. Gas separation characteristics of the separator were investigated experimentally and numerically, and an experimental study on recycling system was carried out. The results showed that the recycling system improves apparent methane conversion, ratio of methane conversion to methane supply from a cylinder, from 20 to 32% compared with those without recycling. (author)

Hydrogen production by dry reforming of methane with carbon dioxide in one-dimensional nickel-based catalysts; Produccion de hidrogeno mediante el reformado seco de metano con dioxido de carbono en catalizadores unidimensionales a base de niquel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez U, A. C.

2016-07-01

The main objective of this thesis is development of nickel catalysts supported over 1D matrix of cerium oxide, to be used in dry reforming methane reaction with carbon dioxide for hydrogen production. The catalysts were characterized by: Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (Sem), Surface Area (Bet method) an X Ray Diffraction (XRD). The TPR technique allowed to define reduction temperature of the active phase in the catalyst, Sem technique showed that the CeO{sub 2} matrix had a nano rod morphology. XRD allowed to identify the crystalline phases of the catalysts. Finally, the catalysts were tested in the dry reforming methane reaction, high catalytic activity and hydrogen production were performed at 700 degrees Celsius and the catalyst with 30 wt.% of nickel. (Author)

Catalytic aromatization of methane.

Science.gov (United States)

Spivey, James J; Hutchings, Graham

2014-02-07

Recent developments in natural gas production technology have led to lower prices for methane and renewed interest in converting methane to higher value products. Processes such as those based on syngas from methane reforming are being investigated. Another option is methane aromatization, which produces benzene and hydrogen: 6CH4(g) → C6H6(g) + 9H2(g) ΔG°(r) = +433 kJ mol(-1) ΔH°(r) = +531 kJ mol(-1). Thermodynamic calculations for this reaction show that benzene formation is insignificant below ∼600 °C, and that the formation of solid carbon [C(s)] is thermodynamically favored at temperatures above ∼300 °C. Benzene formation is insignificant at all temperatures up to 1000 °C when C(s) is included in the calculation of equilibrium composition. Interestingly, the thermodynamic limitation on benzene formation can be minimized by the addition of alkanes/alkenes to the methane feed. By far the most widely studied catalysts for this reaction are Mo/HZSM-5 and Mo/MCM-22. Benzene selectivities are generally between 60 and 80% at methane conversions of ∼10%, corresponding to net benzene yields of less than 10%. Major byproducts include lower molecular weight hydrocarbons and higher molecular weight substituted aromatics. However, carbon formation is inevitable, but the experimental findings show this can be kinetically limited by the use of H2 or oxidants in the feed, including CO2 or steam. A number of reactor configurations involving regeneration of the carbon-containing catalyst have been developed with the goal of minimizing the cost of regeneration of the catalyst once deactivated by carbon deposition. In this tutorial review we discuss the thermodynamics of this process, the catalysts used and the potential reactor configurations that can be applied.

A density functional theory study on the effect of zero-point energy corrections on the methanation profile on Fe(100).

Science.gov (United States)

Govender, Ashriti; Ferré, Daniel Curulla; Niemantsverdriet, J W Hans

2012-04-23

The thermodynamics and kinetics of the surface hydrogenation of adsorbed atomic carbon to methane, following the reaction sequence C+4H(-->////ZPE) corrections are included. The C, CH and CH(2) species are most stable at the fourfold hollow site, while CH(3) prefers the twofold bridge site. Atomic hydrogen is adsorbed at both the twofold bridge and fourfold hollow sites. Methane is physisorbed on the surface and shows neither orientation nor site preference. It is easily desorbed to the gas phase once formed. The incorporation of ZPE corrections has a very slight, if any, effect on the adsorption energies and does not alter the trends with regards to the most stable adsorption sites. The successive addition of hydrogen to atomic carbon is endothermic up to the addition of the third hydrogen atom resulting in the methyl species, but exothermic in the final hydrogenation step, which leads to methane. The overall methanation reaction is endothermic when starting from atomic carbon and hydrogen on the surface. Zero-point energy corrections are rarely provided in the literature. Since they are derived from C-H bonds with characteristic vibrations on the order of 2500-3000 cm(-1), the equivalent ZPE of 1/2 hν is on the order of 0.2-0.3 eV and its effect on adsorption energy can in principle be significant. Particularly in reactions between CH(x) and H, the ZPE correction is expected to be significant, as additional C-H bonds are formed. In this instance, the methanation reaction energy of +0.77 eV increased to +1.45 eV with the inclusion of ZPE corrections, that is, less favourable. Therefore, it is crucial to include ZPE corrections when reporting reactions involving hydrogen-containing species. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Differentiation of pre-existing trapped methane from thermogenic methane in an igneous-intruded coal by hydrous pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Robert F.; Lewan, Michael D.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Kotarba, Maciej J.

2014-01-01

So as to better understand how the gas generation potential of coal changes with increasing rank, same-seam samples of bituminous coal from the Illinois Basin that were naturally matured to varying degrees by the intrusion of an igneous dike were subjected to hydrous pyrolysis (HP) conditions of 360 °C for 72 h. The accumulated methane in the reactor headspace was analyzed for δ13C and δ2H, and mol percent composition. Maximum methane production (9.7 mg/g TOC) occurred in the most immature samples (0.5 %Ro), waning to minimal methane values at 2.44 %Ro (0.67 mg/g TOC), and rebounding to 3.6 mg/g TOC methane in the most mature sample (6.76 %Ro). Methane from coal with the highest initial thermal maturity (6.76 %Ro) shows no isotopic dependence on the reactor water and has a microbial δ13C value of −61‰. However, methane from coal of minimal initial thermal maturity (0.5 %Ro) shows hydrogen isotopic dependence on the reaction water and has a δ13C value of −37‰. The gas released from coals under hydrous pyrolysis conditions represents a quantifiable mixture of ancient (270 Ma) methane (likely microbial) that was generated in situ and trapped within the rock during the rapid heating by the dike, and modern (laboratory) thermogenic methane that was generated from the indigenous organic matter due to thermal maturation induced by hydrous pyrolysis conditions. These findings provide an analytical framework for better assessment of natural gas sources and for differentiating generated gas from pre-existing trapped gas in coals of various ranks.

Device for manufacturing methane or synthetic gas from materials containing carbon using a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeger, W.

1984-01-01

This invention concerns a device for manufacturing methane or synthetic gas from materials containing carbon using a nuclear reactor, where part of the carbon is gasified with hydration and the remaining carbon is converted to synthetic gas by adding steam. This synthetic gas consists mainly of H 2 , CO, CO 2 and CH 4 and can be converted to methane in so-called methanising using a nickel catalyst. The hydrogen gasifier is situated in the first of two helium circuits of a high temperature reactor, and the splitting furnace is situated in the second helium circuit, where part of the methane produced is split into hydrogen at high temperature, which is used for the hydrating splitting of another part of the material containing carbon. (orig./RB) [de

Optimization of biohydrogen and methane recovery within a cassava ethanol wastewater/waste integrated management system.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wen; Xie, Li; Luo, Gang; Zhou, Qi; Lu, Qin

2012-09-01

Thermophilic co-fermentation of cassava stillage (CS) and cassava excess sludge (CES) were investigated for hydrogen and methane production. The highest hydrogen yield (37.1 ml/g-total-VS added) was obtained at VS(CS)/VS(CES) of 7:1, 17% higher than that with CS digestion alone. The CES recycle enhanced the substrate utilization and improved the buffer capacity. Further increase the CES fraction led to changed VFA distribution and more hydrogen consumption. FISH analysis revealed that both hydrogen producing bacteria and hydrogen consuming bacteria were enriched after CES recycled, and the acetobacteria percentage increased to 12.4% at VS(CS)/VS(CES) of 6:2. Relatively high efficient and stable hydrogen production was observed at VS(CS)/VS(CES) of 5:3 without pH adjusted and any pretreatment. The highest total energy yield, the highest COD and VS degradation were obtained at VS(CS)/VS(CES) of 7:1. GFC analysis indicated that the hydrolysis behavior was significantly improved by CES recycle at both hydrogen and methane production phase. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurements of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Other Related Tracers at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution in an Urban Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuhara, Scott; Forgeron, Jeff; Rella, Chris; Franz, Patrick; Jacobson, Gloria; Chiao, Sen; Saad, Nabil

2013-04-01

The ability to quantify sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and methane on the urban scale is essential for understanding the atmospheric drivers to global climate change. In the 'top-down' approach, overall carbon fluxes are determined by combining remote measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations with complex atmospheric transport models, and these emissions measurements are compared to 'bottom-up' predictions based on detailed inventories of the sources and sinks of carbon, both anthropogenic and biogenic in nature. This approach, which has proven to be effective at continental scales, becomes challenging to implement at urban scales, due to poorly understood atmospheric transport models and high variability of the emissions sources in space (e.g., factories, highways, green spaces) and time (rush hours, factory shifts and shutdowns, and diurnal and seasonal variation in residential energy use). New measurement and analysis techniques are required to make sense of the carbon dioxide signal in cities. Here we present detailed, high spatial- and temporal- resolution greenhouse gas measurements made by multiple Picarro-CRDS analyzers in Silicon Valley in California. Real-time carbon dioxide data from a 20-month period are combined with real-time carbon monoxide, methane, and acetylene to partition the observed carbon dioxide concentrations between different anthropogenic sectors (e.g., transport, residential) and biogenic sources. Real-time wind rose data are also combined with real-time methane data to help identify the direction of local emissions of methane. High resolution WRF models are also included to better understand the dynamics of the boundary layer. The ratio between carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is shown to vary over more than a factor of two from season to season or even from day to night, indicating rapid but frequent shifts in the balance between different carbon dioxide sources. Additional information is given by acetylene, a fossil fuel

Repression of hydrogen uptake using conjugated oligoelectrolytes in microbial electrolysis cells

KAUST Repository

Hou, Huijie

2014-11-01

Copyright © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DSBN+, a conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE), was added to microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) to improve hydrogen recovery. The volume of hydrogen gas recovered in a fedbatch cycle of mixed culture MECs increased by 126× compared to controls (no COE addition), mainly by preventing the loss of hydrogen to methane production. Performance in pure culture MECs fed with Geobacter sulfurreducens increased by factors of 10.5 in terms of energy yield, 2.1 in COD removal, and 11.8 in hydrogen yield. Hydrogen gas recycling was reduced, and the volume of hydrogen gas recovered increased by 6.5× compared to controls. Minimal methane production and a lack of hydrogen gas uptake by G. sulfurreducens suggested that the COEs increased hydrogen recoveries by interfering with hydrogen uptake by hydrogenotrophic methanogens but also by exoelectrogenic bacteria. COEs may therefore be useful for inhibiting the activities of certain hydrogenases, although the mechanism of inhibition needs further investigation.

Repression of hydrogen uptake using conjugated oligoelectrolytes in microbial electrolysis cells

KAUST Repository

Hou, Huijie; Chen, Xiaofen; Liu, Jia; Zhu, Xiuping; Bazan, Guillermo C.; Logan, Bruce E.

2014-01-01

Copyright © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DSBN+, a conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE), was added to microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) to improve hydrogen recovery. The volume of hydrogen gas recovered in a fedbatch cycle of mixed culture MECs increased by 126× compared to controls (no COE addition), mainly by preventing the loss of hydrogen to methane production. Performance in pure culture MECs fed with Geobacter sulfurreducens increased by factors of 10.5 in terms of energy yield, 2.1 in COD removal, and 11.8 in hydrogen yield. Hydrogen gas recycling was reduced, and the volume of hydrogen gas recovered increased by 6.5× compared to controls. Minimal methane production and a lack of hydrogen gas uptake by G. sulfurreducens suggested that the COEs increased hydrogen recoveries by interfering with hydrogen uptake by hydrogenotrophic methanogens but also by exoelectrogenic bacteria. COEs may therefore be useful for inhibiting the activities of certain hydrogenases, although the mechanism of inhibition needs further investigation.

Calorimetric Thermoelectric Gas Sensor for the Detection of Hydrogen, Methane and Mixed Gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nam-Hee Park

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A novel miniaturized calorimeter-type sensor device with a dual-catalyst structure was fabricated by integrating different catalysts on the hot (Pd/θ-Al2O3 and cold (Pt/α-Al2O3 ends of the device. The device comprises a calorimeter with a thermoelectric gas sensor (calorimetric-TGS, combining catalytic combustion and thermoelectric technologies. Its response for a model fuel gas of hydrogen and methane was investigated with various combustor catalyst compositions. The calorimetric-TGS devices detected H2, CH4, and a mixture of the two with concentrations ranging between 200 and 2000 ppm at temperatures of 100–400 °C, in terms of the calorie content of the gases. It was necessary to reduce the much higher response voltage of the TGS to H2 compared to CH4. We enhanced the H2 combustion on the cold side so that the temperature differences and response voltages to H2 were reduced. The device response to H2 combustion was reduced by 50% by controlling the Pt concentration in the Pt/α-Al2O3 catalyst on the cold side to 3 wt%.

Catalytic reduction of NO by methane using a Pt/C/polybenzimidazole/Pt/C fuel cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petrushina, Irina; Cleemann, Lars Nilausen; Refshauge, Rasmus

2007-01-01

with participation of H+ or electrochemically produced hydrogen. When added, methane partially suppresses the electrochemical reduction of NO. Methane outlet concentration monitoring has shown the CH4 participation in the chemical catalytic reduction, i.e., methane co-adsorption with NO inhibited the electrochemical...... NO reduction and introduced a dominant chemical path of the NO reduction. The products of the NO reduction with methane were N2, C2H4, and water. The catalytic NO reduction by methane was promoted when the catalyst was negatively polarized (−0.2 V). Repeated negative polarization of the catalyst increased...

Continuous hydrogen and methane production from Agave tequilana bagasse hydrolysate by sequential process to maximize energy recovery efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Montiel Corona, Virginia; Razo-Flores, Elías

2018-02-01

Continuous H 2 and CH 4 production in a two-stage process to increase energy recovery from agave bagasse enzymatic-hydrolysate was studied. In the first stage, the effect of organic loading rate (OLR) and stirring speed on volumetric hydrogen production rate (VHPR) was evaluated in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR); by controlling the homoacetogenesis with the agitation speed and maintaining an OLR of 44 g COD/L-d, it was possible to reach a VHPR of 6 L H 2 /L-d, equivalent to 1.34 kJ/g bagasse. In the second stage, the effluent from CSTR was used as substrate to feed a UASB reactor for CH 4 production. Volumetric methane production rate (VMPR) of 6.4 L CH 4 /L-d was achieved with a high OLR (20 g COD/L-d) and short hydraulic retention time (HRT, 14 h), producing 225 mL CH 4 /g-bagasse equivalent to 7.88 kJ/g bagasse. The two-stage continuous process significantly increased energy conversion efficiency (56%) compared to one-stage hydrogen production (8.2%). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Final Report: Room Temperature Electrochemical Upgrading of Methane to Oxygenate Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mustain, William

2018-01-02

The overall objective of this project is to discover the nature of the electrochemically active sites and to uncover the mechanisms for the electrocatalytic transformation of small organic molecules to oxygenate products such as methanol, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and acetylene. Among the feedstocks of interest in this study are: methane, carbon dioxide, and acetic acid. Methane is an incredibly attractive potential feedstock because of the recent discovery of large shale deposits; carbon dioxide is potentially a very available feedstock from carbon capture technologies; acetic acid (as well as CH4 and CO2 and ethanol) has potential as a bio-derived feedstock. This report summarizes the major results to date regarding the electrochemical transformation of CH4, CO2 and acetic acid to chemicals and fuels – with a primary focus on methane. Finer details are available in each of the projects annual reports. In addition to the primary objective, the work in this project has led to synergistic discoveries that are advantageous to other fields including: catalyst layer deposition, anion exchange membrane fuel cells, CO2 capture and li-ion batteries. Those are very briefly discussed as well.

Sintering uranium oxide in the reaction product of hydrogen-carbon dioxide mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Hollander, W.R.; Nivas, Y.

1975-01-01

Compacted pellets of uranium oxide alone or containing one or more additives such as plutonium dioxide, gadolinium oxide, titanium dioxide, silica, and alumina are heated to 900 to 1599 0 C in the presence of a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, either alone or with an inert carrier gas and held at the desired temperature in this atmosphere to sinter the pellets. The sintered pellets are then cooled in an atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 10 -4 to 10 -18 atm of oxygen such as dry hydrogen, wet hydrogen, dry carbon monoxide, wet carbon monoxide, inert gases such as nitrogen, argon, helium, and neon and mixtures of ayny of the foregoing including a mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The ratio of hydrogen to carbon dioxide in the gas mixture fed to the furnace is controlled to give a ratio of oxygen to uranium atoms in the sintered particles within the range of 1.98:1 to about 2.10:1. The water vapor present in the reaction products in the furnace atmosphere acts as a hydrolysis agent to aid removal of fluoride should such impurity be present in the uranium oxide. (U.S.)

Non-Faradaic electrochemical promotion of catalytic methane reforming for methanol production

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Qinbai

2016-11-22

A method of converting methane to methanol at low temperatures utilizes a reactor including an anode, a cathode, a membrane separator between the anode and cathode, a metal oxide catalyst at the anode and a hydrogen recovery catalyst at the cathode. The method can convert methane to methanol at as rate exceeding the theoretical Faradaic rate due to the contribution of an electrochemical reaction occurring in tandem with a Faradaic reaction.

Abiotic Production of Methane in Terrestrial Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán-Marmolejo, Andrés; Escobar-Briones, Elva

2013-01-01

Abstract On Earth, methane is produced mainly by life, and it has been proposed that, under certain conditions, methane detected in an exoplanetary spectrum may be considered a biosignature. Here, we estimate how much methane may be produced in hydrothermal vent systems by serpentinization, its main geological source, using the kinetic properties of the main reactions involved in methane production by serpentinization. Hydrogen production by serpentinization was calculated as a function of the available FeO in the crust, given the current spreading rates. Carbon dioxide is the limiting reactant for methane formation because it is highly depleted in aqueous form in hydrothermal vent systems. We estimated maximum CH4 surface fluxes of 6.8×108 and 1.3×109 molecules cm−2 s−1 for rocky planets with 1 and 5 M⊕, respectively. Using a 1-D photochemical model, we simulated atmospheres with volume mixing ratios of 0.03 and 0.1 CO2 to calculate atmospheric methane concentrations for the maximum production of this compound by serpentinization. The resulting abundances were 2.5 and 2.1 ppmv for 1 M⊕ planets and 4.1 and 3.7 ppmv for 5 M⊕ planets. Therefore, low atmospheric concentrations of methane may be produced by serpentinization. For habitable planets around Sun-like stars with N2-CO2 atmospheres, methane concentrations larger than 10 ppmv may indicate the presence of life. Key Words: Serpentinization—Exoplanets—Biosignatures—Planetary atmospheres. Astrobiology 13, 550–559. PMID:23742231

Properties of large-scale methane/hydrogen jet fires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studer, E. [CEA Saclay, DEN, LTMF Heat Transfer and Fluid Mech Lab, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Jamois, D.; Leroy, G.; Hebrard, J. [INERIS, F-60150 Verneuil En Halatte (France); Jallais, S. [Air Liquide, F-78350 Jouy En Josas (France); Blanchetiere, V. [GDF SUEZ, 93 - La Plaine St Denis (France)

2009-12-15

A future economy based on reduction of carbon-based fuels for power generation and transportation may consider hydrogen as possible energy carrier Extensive and widespread use of hydrogen might require a pipeline network. The alternatives might be the use of the existing natural gas network or to design a dedicated network. Whatever the solution, mixing hydrogen with natural gas will modify the consequences of accidents, substantially The French National Research Agency (ANR) funded project called HYDROMEL focuses on these critical questions Within this project large-scale jet fires have been studied experimentally and numerically The main characteristics of these flames including visible length, radiation fluxes and blowout have been assessed. (authors)

Neutronic studies of a liquid hydrogen-water composite moderator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahara, T.; Ooi, M.; Iwasa, H.; Kiyanagi, Y.; Iverson, E.B.; Crabtree, J.A.; Lucas, A.T.

2001-01-01

A liquid hydrogen-liquid water composite moderator may provide performance like liquid methane at high-power spallation sources where liquid methane is impractical. We have measured the neutronic properties of such a composite moderator, where a hydrogen layer 1.25 cm thick was closely backed by water layers of 1.75 cm and 3.75 cm thickness. We also studied a moderator in which a 1.75 cm water layer was closely backed by a 1.25 cm hydrogen layer. We further performed simulations for each of these systems for comparison to the experimental results. We observed enhancement of the spectral intensity in the 'thermal' energy range as compared to the spectrum from a conventional liquid hydrogen moderator. This enhancement grew more significant as the water thickness increased, although the pulse shapes became wider as well. (author)

High-temperature measurements of methane and acetylene using quantum cascade laser absorption near 8μm

KAUST Repository

Sajid, M.B.; Javed, Tamour; Farooq, Aamir

2015-01-01

The mid-infrared wavelength region near 8 mu m contains absorption bands of several molecules such as water vapor, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous oxide, methane and acetylene. A new laser absorption sensor based on the v(4) band of methane and the v(4

Thermal Methane Conversion to Syngas Mediated by Rh1-Doped Aluminum Oxide Cluster Cations RhAl3O4.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ya-Ke; Yuan, Zhen; Zhao, Yan-Xia; Zhao, Chongyang; Liu, Qing-Yu; Chen, Hui; He, Sheng-Gui

2016-10-05

Laser ablation generated RhAl 3 O 4 + heteronuclear metal oxide cluster cations have been mass-selected using a quadrupole mass filter and reacted with CH 4 or CD 4 in a linear ion trap reactor under thermal collision conditions. The reactions have been characterized by state-of-the-art mass spectrometry and quantum chemistry calculations. The RhAl 3 O 4 + cluster can activate four C-H bonds of a methane molecule and convert methane to syngas, an important intermediate product in methane conversion to value-added chemicals. The Rh atom is the active site for activation of the C-H bonds of methane. The high electron-withdrawing capability of Rh atom is the driving force to promote the conversion of methane to syngas. The polarity of Rh oxidation state is changed from positive to negative after the reaction. This study has provided the first example of methane conversion to syngas by heteronuclear metal oxide clusters under thermal collision conditions. Furthermore, the molecular level origin has been revealed for the condensed-phase experimental observation that trace amounts of Rh can promote the participation of lattice oxygen of chemically very inert support (Al 2 O 3 ) to oxidize methane to carbon monoxide.

Switching to a U.S. hydrogen fuel cell vehicle fleet: The resultant change in emissions, energy use, and greenhouse gases

Science.gov (United States)

Colella, W. G.; Jacobson, M. Z.; Golden, D. M.

This study examines the potential change in primary emissions and energy use from replacing the current U.S. fleet of fossil-fuel on-road vehicles (FFOV) with hybrid electric fossil fuel vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCV). Emissions and energy usage are analyzed for three different HFCV scenarios, with hydrogen produced from: (1) steam reforming of natural gas, (2) electrolysis powered by wind energy, and (3) coal gasification. With the U.S. EPA's National Emission Inventory as the baseline, other emission inventories are created using a life cycle assessment (LCA) of alternative fuel supply chains. For a range of reasonable HFCV efficiencies and methods of producing hydrogen, we find that the replacement of FFOV with HFCV significantly reduces emission associated with air pollution, compared even with a switch to hybrids. All HFCV scenarios decrease net air pollution emission, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. These reductions are achieved with hydrogen production from either a fossil fuel source such as natural gas or a renewable source such as wind. Furthermore, replacing FFOV with hybrids or HFCV with hydrogen derived from natural gas, wind or coal may reduce the global warming impact of greenhouse gases and particles (measured in carbon dioxide equivalent emission) by 6, 14, 23, and 1%, respectively. Finally, even if HFCV are fueled by a fossil fuel such as natural gas, if no carbon is sequestered during hydrogen production, and 1% of methane in the feedstock gas is leaked to the environment, natural gas HFCV still may achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas and air pollution emission over FFOV.

The CHRONOS mission: capability for sub-hourly synoptic observations of carbon monoxide and methane to quantify emissions and transport of air pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. P. Edwards

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The CHRONOS space mission concept provides time-resolved abundance for emissions and transport studies of the highly variable and highly uncertain air pollutants carbon monoxide and methane, with sub-hourly revisit rate at fine (∼ 4 km horizontal spatial resolution across a North American domain. CHRONOS can provide complete synoptic air pollution maps (snapshots of the continental domain with less than 10 min of observations. This rapid mapping enables visualization of air pollution transport simultaneously across the entire continent and enables a sentinel-like capability for monitoring evolving, or unanticipated, air pollution sources in multiple locations at the same time with high temporal resolution. CHRONOS uses a compact imaging gas filter correlation radiometer for these observations, with heritage from more than 17 years of scientific data and algorithm advances by the science teams for the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft in low Earth orbit. To achieve continental-scale sub-hourly sampling, the CHRONOS mission would be conducted from geostationary orbit, with the instrument hosted on a communications or meteorological platform. CHRONOS observations would contribute to an integrated observing system for atmospheric composition using surface, suborbital and satellite data with atmospheric chemistry models, as defined by the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites. Addressing the U.S. National Academy's 2007 decadal survey direction to characterize diurnal changes in tropospheric composition, CHRONOS observations would find direct societal applications for air quality management and forecasting to protect public health.

A 60-yr record of atmospheric carbon monoxide reconstructed from Greenland firn air

Science.gov (United States)

Petrenko, V. V.; Martinerie, P.; Novelli, P.; Etheridge, D. M.; Levin, I.; Wang, Z.; Blunier, T.; Chappellaz, J.; Kaiser, J.; Lang, P.; Steele, L. P.; Hammer, S.; Mak, J.; Langenfelds, R. L.; Schwander, J.; Severinghaus, J. P.; Witrant, E.; Petron, G.; Battle, M. O.; Forster, G.; Sturges, W. T.; Lamarque, J.-F.; Steffen, K.; White, J. W. C.

2012-08-01

We present a reconstruction of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) high latitude atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) mole fraction from Greenland firn air. Firn air samples were collected at three deep ice core sites in Greenland (NGRIP in 2001, Summit in 2006 and NEEM in 2008). CO records from the three sites agree well with each other as well as with recent atmospheric measurements, indicating that CO is well preserved in the firn at these sites. CO atmospheric history was reconstructed back to the year 1950 from the measurements using a combination of two forward models of gas transport in firn and an inverse model. The reconstructed history suggests that Arctic CO was already higher in 1950 than it is today. CO mole fractions rose gradually until the 1970s and peaked in the 1970s or early 1980s, followed by a decline to today's levels. We compare the CO history with the atmospheric histories of methane, light hydrocarbons, molecular hydrogen, CO stable isotopes and hydroxyl radical (OH), as well as with published CO emission inventories and results of a historical run from a chemistry-transport model. We find that the reconstructed Greenland CO history cannot be reconciled with available emission inventories unless large changes in OH are assumed. We argue that the available CO emission inventories chronically underestimate NH emissions, and fail to capture the emission decline starting in the late 1970s, which was most likely due to reduced emissions from road transportation in North America and Europe.

Experimental study of swelling of irradiated solid methane during annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shabalin, E.; Fedorov, A.; Kulagin, E.; Kulikov, S.; Melikhov, V.; Shabalin, D.

2008-01-01

Solid methane, notwithstanding its poor radiation properties, is still widely in use at pulsed neutron sources. One of the specific problems is radiolytic hydrogen gas pressure on the walls of a methane chamber during annealing of methane. Results of experimental study of this phenomenon under fast neutron irradiation with the help of a specially made low temperature irradiation rig at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor are presented. Peak pressure on the wall of the experimental capsule during heating of a sample irradiated at 23-35 K appeared to have a maximum of 27 bar at the absorbed dose 20 MGy, and then falls down with higher doses. Pressure always reached its peak value within the temperature range 72-79 K. Generally, three phases of methane swelling during heating can be distinguished, each characterized by proper rate and intensity. Results of this study were accounted for in design of the solid methane moderator of the second target station of the ISIS facility (England)

The calculation of methane profiles in AGR graphite structures. Part I: cylindrical geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faircloth, R.L.

1980-08-01

A mathematical model has been developed to simulate the diffusion, permeable flow and radiolytic destruction of methane in graphite specimens utilised in the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor development programme. The integration of the diffusion equations governing the rate of mass transport is carried out by the Harwell FACSIMILE program and in its simple form the model has shown good agreement with analytical solutions. The model has been extended to take into account the changes in water and carbon monoxide concentrations resulting from radiolytic reactions within the system and the magnitude of these effects has been assessed. A simple method for the introduction of the effect of water production arising directly from the methane destruction process has been derived and a technique for calculating the gas-in-gas diffusion coefficients for the migrating species from the molecular theory of gases is outlined. (author)

Inhibition of photosynthesis by carbon monoxide and suspension of the carbon monoxide inhibition by light

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gewitz, H S; Voelker, W

1963-08-01

The experimental subject was the autotroph Chlorella pyrenoidosa. It was found that growth conditions determine whether the alga is inhibited by carbon monoxide or not. Respiration and photosynthesis are inhibited by carbon monoxide if the cells have grown rapidly under high light intensities. The inhibition of respiration and photosynthesis found in such cells is completely reversible. The inhibition depends not only on carbon monoxide pressure, but also on the oxygen pressure prevailing at the same time. 5 references, 1 figure, 3 tables.

Liquefaction of lignohemicellulosic waste by processing with carbon monoxide and water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Saied, H

1977-09-01

The liquefaction of lignohemicellulosic waste by processing with carbon monoxide and water for 10 minutes at 250/sup 0/-440/sup 0/C and 40 to 70 atm initial pressure in a rocking autoclave produced benzene-soluble heavy oil in yields up to 80%. High conversion and yields were favored by high thermal stress, short reaction times, and sufficient hydrogen to prevent radical recombination in the critical liquefaction stages. The addition of sodium or calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, iron oxide, etc. in small amounts gave good oil yields under less severe conditions. Lignins from rice straw, bagasse, and other grasses gave higher yields than the woody lignin obtained from cotton stalks. In products obtained by liquefying black liquor lignohemicellulose from an Eyptian rice straw pulping plant, the hydrogen-carbon atomic ratio was 1.0 to 1.3:1.

An integrated approach to hydrogen economy in Sicilian islands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matera, Fabio V.; Sapienza, C.; Andaloro, L.; Dispensa, G.; Ferraro, M.; Antonucci, V. [Italian National Research Council, Institute of Advanced Energy Technologies ' ' Nicola Giordano' ' , salita S. Lucia sopra Contesse, 5, Messina 98126 (Italy)

2009-08-15

CNR-ITAE is developing several hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration and research projects, each intended to be part of a larger strategy for hydrogen communities settling in small Sicilian islands. These projects involve vehicle design, hydrogen production from renewable energy sources and methane, as well as implementation strategies to develop a hydrogen and renewable energy economy. These zero emission lightweight vehicles feature regenerative braking and advanced power electronics to increase efficiency. Moreover, to achieve a very easy-to-use technology, a very simple interface between driver and the system is under development, including fault-recovery strategies and GPS positioning for car-rental fleets. Also marine applications have been included, with tests on PEFC applied on passenger ships and luxury yacht as power system for on-board loads. In marine application, it is under study also an electrolysis hydrogen generator system using seawater as hydrogen carrier. For stationary and automotive applications, the project includes a hydrogen refuelling station powered by renewable energy (wind or/and solar) and test on fuel processors fed with methane, in order to make the power generation self-sufficient, as well as to test the technology and increase public awareness toward clean energy sources. (author)

Methane measurement by the Pioneer Venus large probe neutral mass spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Donahue, T. M.; Hodges, R. R., Jr.

1992-12-01

The Pioneer Venus Large Probe Mass Spectrometer detected a large quantity of methane as it descended below 20 km in the atmosphere of Venus. Terrestrial methane and Xe-136, both originating in the same container and flowing through the same plumbing, were deliberately released inside the mass spectrometer for instrumental reasons. However, the Xe-136 did not exhibit behavior similar to methane during Venus entry, nor did CH4 in laboratory simulations. The CH4 was deuterium poor compared to Venus water and hydrogen. While the inlet to the mass spectrometer was clogged with sulfuric acid droplets, significant deuteration of CH4 and its H2 progeny was observed. Since the only source of deuterium identifiable was water from sulfuric acid, we have concluded that we should correct the HDO/H2O ratio in Venus water from 3.2 x 10-2 to (5 plus or minus 0.7) x 10-2. When the probe was in the lower atmosphere, transfer of deuterium from Venus HDO and HD to CH4 can account quantitatively for the deficiencies recorded in HDO and HD below 10 km, and consequently, the mysterious gradients in water vapor and hydrogen mixing ratios we have reported. The revision in the D/H ratio reduces the mixing ratio of water vapor (and H2) reported previously by a factor of 3.2/5. We are not yet able to say whether the methane detected was atmospheric or an instrumental artifact. If it was atmospheric, its release must have been episodic and highly localized. Otherwise, the large D/H ratio in Venus water and hydrogen could not be maintained.

Engineering Development of Ceramic Membrane Reactor System for Converting Natural Gas to Hydrogen and Synthesis Gas for Liquid Transportation Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Air Products and Chemicals

2008-09-30

An Air Products-led team successfully developed ITM Syngas technology from the concept stage to a stage where a small-scale engineering prototype was about to be built. This technology produces syngas, a gas containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen, by reacting feed gas, primarily methane and steam, with oxygen that is supplied through an ion transport membrane. An ion transport membrane operates at high temperature and oxygen ions are transported through the dense membrane's crystal lattice when an oxygen partial pressure driving force is applied. This development effort solved many significant technical challenges and successfully scaled-up key aspects of the technology to prototype scale. Throughout the project life, the technology showed significant economic benefits over conventional technologies. While there are still on-going technical challenges to overcome, the progress made under the DOE-funded development project proved that the technology was viable and continued development post the DOE agreement would be warranted.

New syntheses with carbon monoxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falbe, J.

1980-01-01

In the chapter of hydroformulation, oxosynthesis ans Roelen reaction the effect of reaction conditions on conversion, selectivity and operation of the oxo synthesis, hydroformulation of particular structures, parallel and consecutive reactions under hydroformulation conditions and process variants and economic background of the industrial oxo synthesis are discussed. The chapter of homologation of alcohols describes reaction mechanism and parallel and secondary reactions. The chapter of Reppe reactions deals with carbonylation of various structures. The chapter of hydrogenation of CO treats methanol, glycol, methane, the Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon and polymethylene synthesis. The chapter of Koch reactions treats reaction mechanism and carbonlylation at particular compounds. The last chapter presents ring closure reactions with CO. Separate abstracts were prepared for one chapter in this book.

A Nanomesoporous Catalyst from Modified Red Mud and Its Application for Methane Decomposition to Hydrogen Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoke Fang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A type of nanomesoporous modified red mud (MRM catalyst was prepared and utilized for catalytic methane decomposition (CMD to produce hydrogen. The modification process significantly simplified the mineral composition of the red mud (RM; in the meantime, the physical and chemical structure of RM was changed. TEM images suggested that MRM was a kind of nanomesoporous material assembled by a number of uniformly nanoscale particles, BET results showed that the pore size distributions of MRM were ranged from 3 to 12 nm, and the specific surface area and total pore volumes of red mud improved from 8.00 m2/g and 0.08 cm3/g to 190.61 m2/g and 0.39 cm3/g, respectively. The catalytic performance of the catalysts has been tested at 800°C; the results showed that MRM exhibited much higher activity and stability than RM for CMD.

Effect of biogas sparging on the performance of bio-hydrogen reactor over a long-term operation

Science.gov (United States)

Nualsri, Chatchawin; Kongjan, Prawit; Imai, Tsuyoshi

2017-01-01

This study aimed to enhance hydrogen production from sugarcane syrup by biogas sparging. Two-stage continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor were used to produce hydrogen and methane, respectively. Biogas produced from the UASB was used to sparge into the CSTR. Results indicated that sparging with biogas increased the hydrogen production rate (HPR) by 35% (from 17.1 to 23.1 L/L.d) resulted from a reduction in the hydrogen partial pressure. A fluctuation of HPR was observed during a long term monitoring because CO2 in the sparging gas and carbon source in the feedstock were consumed by Enterobacter sp. to produce succinic acid without hydrogen production. Mixed gas released from the CSTR after the sparging can be considered as bio-hythane (H2+CH4). In addition, a continuous sparging biogas into CSTR release a partial pressure in the headspace of the methane reactor. In consequent, the methane production rate is increased. PMID:28207755

Comments and hypotheses on the mechanism of methane against ischemia/reperfusion injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As we all know, methane is a kind of fuel. Previous studies have shown that methanogens in the colon can react with carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane. In a recent study, the anti-inflammatory effects of methane were shown in a dog model of small intestinal ischemia/reperfusion. The mechanism of this anti-inflammatory effect needs further investigation. Recently, studies have shown anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects of methane on different organic injuries. According to the results of these studies, we hypothesize that the initial effects of methane are to react with free radicals and enhance expression of antioxidase through forkhead box transcription factor class O pathway. The anti-inflammatory effect is following the anti-oxidative effect, and the anti-apoptotic effect relies on anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects.

A continuum damage analysis of hydrogen attack in 2.25 Cr-1Mo vessel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Burg, M.W.D.; van der Giessen, E.; Tvergaard, Viggo

1998-01-01

A micromechanically based continuum damage model is presented to analyze the stress, temperature and hydrogen pressure dependent material degradation process termed hydrogen attack, inside a pressure vessel. Hydrogen attack (HA) is the damage process of grain boundary facets due to a chemical...... reaction of carbides with hydrogen, thus forming cavities with high pressure methane gas. Driven by the methane gas pressure, the cavities grow, while remote tensile stresses can significantly enhance the cavitation rate. The damage model gives the strain-rate and damage rate as a function...... of the temperature, hydrogen pressure and applied stresses. The model is applied to study HA in a vessel wall, where nonuniform distributions of hydrogen pressure, temperature and stresses result in a nonuniform damage distribution over the vessel wall. Stresses inside the vessel wall first tend to accelerate...

The sticking probability for H-2 in presence of CO on some transition metals at a hydrogen pressure of 1 bar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Martin; Lytken, Ole; Chorkendorff, Ib

2008-01-01

The sticking probability for H-2 on Ni, Co, Cu, Rh, Ru, Pd, it and Pt metal films supported on graphite has been investigated in a gas mixture consisting of 10 ppm carbon monoxide in hydrogen at a total pressure of 1 bar in the temperature range 40-200 degrees C. Carbon monoxide inhibits the stic......The sticking probability for H-2 on Ni, Co, Cu, Rh, Ru, Pd, it and Pt metal films supported on graphite has been investigated in a gas mixture consisting of 10 ppm carbon monoxide in hydrogen at a total pressure of 1 bar in the temperature range 40-200 degrees C. Carbon monoxide inhibits...... the sticking probability significantly for all the metals, even at 200 degrees C. In the presence of 10 ppm CO, the sticking probability increases in the order It, Pt, Ni, Co, Pd, Rh, Ru, whereas for Cu, it is below the detection limit of the measurement, even in pure H2. The sticking probability for H2...

Hydrogen and Carbon Black Production from the Degradation of Methane by Thermal Plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Cottet

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Methane gas (CH4 is the main inducer of the so called greenhouse gases effect. Recent scientific research aims to minimize the accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere and to develop processes capable of producing stable materials with added value. Thermal plasma technology is a promising alternative to these applications, since it allows obtaining H2 and solid carbon from CH4, without the parallel formation of byproducts such as CO2 and NOx. In this work, CH4 was degraded by thermal plasma in order to produce hydrogen (H2 and carbon black. The degradation efficiency of CH4, selectivity for H2 production as well as the characterization of carbon black were studied. The best results were obtained in the CH4 flow rate of 5 L min-1 the degradation percentage and the selectivity for H2 production reached 98.8 % and 48.4 %, respectively. At flow rates of less than 5 L min-1 the selectivity for H2 production increases and reaches 91.9 %. The carbon black has obtained amorphous with hydrophobic characteristics and can be marketed to be used in composite material, and can also be activated chemically and/or physically and used as adsorbent material.

Biomass gasification and fuel cells: system with PEM fuel cell; Gaseificacao de biomassa e celula a combustivel: sistema com celula tipo PEMFC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sordi, Alexandre; Lobkov, Dmitri D.; Lopes, Daniel Gabriel; Rodrigues, Jean Robert Pereira [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Engenharia Mecanica], e-mail: asordi@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: lobkov@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: danielg@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: jrobert@fem.unicamp.br; Silva, Ennio Peres da [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica Gleb Wataghin], e-mail: Lh2ennio@ifi.unicamp.br

2006-07-01

The objective of this paper is to present the operation flow diagram of an electricity generation system based on the biomass integrated gasification fuel cell of the type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell). The integration between the gasification and a fuel cell of this type consists of the gas methane (CH4) reforming contained in the synthesis gas, the conversion of the carbon monoxide (CO), and the cleaning of the gaseous flow through a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) system. A preliminary analysis was carried out to estimate the efficiency of the system with and without methane gas reforming. The performance was also analyzed for different gasification gas compositions, for larger molar fractions of hydrogen and methane. The system electrical efficiency was 29% respective to the lower heating value of the gasification gas. The larger the molar fraction of hydrogen at the shift reactor exit, the better the PSA exergetic performance. Comparative analysis with small gas turbines exhibited the superiority of the PEMFC system. (author)

Exergetic, technological and economic study for transport of nuclear fuel energy to distant consumers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozdeev, V.V.; Dobrovol'skij, S.P.; Shiryaev, V.K.

1989-01-01

Seven versions of energy transport from HTGR base power source are considered. Energy trasnport using electricity is taken as the main variant. The most promising among considered systems is the variant with steam conversion of methane, which can be used for three methods of energy transport: by converted gas, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Exergetic method of analysis was used to compare different products, used by heat and electric showed that exergetic and economic efficiency of HTGR energy transport by hydrogen appeared to be the highest. Besides this, absolute ecologic purity is provided

Methane Storage in Nanoporous Media as Observed via High-Field NMR Relaxometry

Science.gov (United States)

Papaioannou, A.; Kausik, R.

2015-08-01

The storage properties of methane gas in Vycor porous glass (5.7 nm) are characterized in a wide pressure range from 0.7 to 89.7 MPa using nuclear magnetic resonance. We demonstrate the capability of high-field nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxometry for the determination of the methane-gas storage capacity and the measurement of the hydrogen index, to a high degree of accuracy. This helps determine the excess gas in the pore space which can be identified to exhibit Langmuir properties in the low pressure regime of 0.7 to 39.6 MPa. The Langmuir model enables us to determine the equilibrium density of the monolayer of adsorbed gas to be 8.5% lower than that of liquid methane. We also identify the signatures of multilayer adsorption at the high pressure regime from 39.6 to 89.7 MPa and use the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller theory to determine the number of adsorbed layers of methane gas. We show how these measurements help us differentiate the gas stored in the Vycor pore space into free and adsorbed fractions for the entire pressure range paving way for similar applications such as studying natural-gas storage in gas shale rock or hydrogen storage in carbon nanotubes.

Production of hydrogen through the carbonation-calcination reaction applied to CH4/CO2 mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barelli, L.; Bidini, G.; Corradetti, A.; Desideri, U.

2007-01-01

The production of hydrogen combined with carbon capture represents a possible option for reducing CO 2 emissions in atmosphere and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Nowadays the worldwide hydrogen production is based mainly on natural gas reforming, but the attention of the scientific community is focused also on other gas mixtures with significant methane content. In particular mixtures constituted mainly by methane and carbon dioxide are extensively used in energy conversion applications, as they include land-fill gas, digester gas and natural gas. The present paper addresses the development of an innovative system for hydrogen production and CO 2 capture starting from these mixtures. The plant is based on steam methane reforming, coupled with the carbonation and calcination reactions for CO 2 absorption and desorption, respectively. A thermodynamic approach is proposed to investigate the plant performance in relation to the CH 4 content in the feeding gas. The results suggest that, in order to optimize the hydrogen purity and the efficiency, two different methodologies can be adopted involving both the system layout and operating parameters. In particular such methodologies are suitable for a methane content, respectively, higher and lower than 65%

Microwave interaction with nonuniform hydrogen gas in carbon nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babaei, S.; Babaei, Sh.

2009-01-01

In this paper we study the reflection, absorption, and transmission of microwave from nonuniform hydrogen gas in carbon nanotubes, grown by iron-catalyzed high-pressure carbon monoxide disproportionate (HiPco) process. A discussion on the effect of various hydrogen gas parameters on the reflected power, absorbed power, and transmitted power is presented. The nonuniform hydrogen gas slab is modeled by a series of subslabs. The overall number density profile across the whole slab follows a parabolic function. The total reflected, absorbed, and transmitted powers are then deduced and their functional dependence on the number density, collision frequency, and angle of propagation is studied

Fiscal 1975 Sunshine Project research report. General research on hydrogen energy subsystems and their peripheral technologies (Research on hydrogen combustion technology); 1975 nendo suiso nensho gijutsu ni kansuru kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1976-03-01

This research mainly aims at establishment of various conditions necessary for using hydrogen fuel. The research includes (1) properties of hydrogen-methane mixture gas, and the proposal to future R and D, (2) extraction of various problems in practical use of home or industrial combustors, and evaluation of existing technologies, (3) the environmental impact of hydrogen fuel and its reduction measures, and (4) estimation of energy structures in cities and placing of hydrogen fuel in 2000. Detailed study items are as follows. In (1), general and proper combustion characteristics of and combustion technology for hydrogen- methane mixture system. In (2), problems for every use of various gas equipment, application of various gas equipment to hydrogen, peripheral technologies, conversion from natural gas, problems of heating furnaces and hydrogen burners, combustion safety/control equipment for various combustors, water content recovery combustion system, hydrogen embrittlement, and sealing. In (3), NO{sub x} generation in hydrogen combustion and its reduction measures. In (4), problems in introduction of a hydrogen-electric power energy system to an assumed model city in 2000. (NEDO)

An Experimental and Chemical Kinetics Study of the Combustion of Syngas and High Hydrogen Content Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santoro, Robers [Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, PA (United States); Dryer, Frederick [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Ju, Yiguang [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

2013-09-30

An integrated and collaborative effort involving experiments and complementary chemical kinetic modeling investigated the effects of significant concentrations of water and CO2 and minor contaminant species (methane [CH4], ethane [C2H6], NOX, etc.) on the ignition and combustion of HHC fuels. The research effort specifically addressed broadening the experimental data base for ignition delay, burning rate, and oxidation kinetics at high pressures, and further refinement of chemical kinetic models so as to develop compositional specifications related to the above major and minor species. The foundation for the chemical kinetic modeling was the well validated mechanism for hydrogen and carbon monoxide developed over the last 25 years by Professor Frederick Dryer and his co-workers at Princeton University. This research furthered advance the understanding needed to develop practical guidelines for realistic composition limits and operating characteristics for HHC fuels. A suite of experiments was utilized that that involved a high-pressure laminar flow reactor, a pressure-release type high-pressure combustion chamber and a high-pressure turbulent flow reactor.

Dual Gas Treatment With Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Protects From Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishida, T; Hayashi, T; Inamoto, T; Kato, R; Ibuki, N; Takahara, K; Takai, T; Yoshikawa, Y; Uchimoto, T; Saito, K; Tanda, N; Kouno, J; Minami, K; Uehara, H; Hirano, H; Nomi, H; Okada, Y; Azuma, H

Hydrogen (H 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO) gas are both reported to reduce reactive oxygen species and alleviate tissue ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a mixture of H 2 gas and CO gas (dual gas) in comparison with hydrogen gas (H 2 : 2%) alone on I-R renal injury (composition of dual gas; N 2 : 77.8%; O 2 : 20.9%; H 2 : 1.30%; CO: 250 parts per million). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (body weight 250-280 g) were divided into 5 groups: (1) sham operation control, (2) dual gas inhalation (dual treatment) without I-R treatment, (3) I-R renal injury, (4) H 2 gas alone inhalation (H 2 treatment) with I-R renal injury, and (5) dual treatment with I-R renal injury. I-R renal injury was induced by clamping the left renal artery and vein for 45 minutes followed by reperfusion, and then contralateral nephrectomy was performed 2 weeks later. Renal function was markedly decreased at 24 hours after reperfusion, and thereafter the effects of dual gas were assessed by histologic examination and determination of the superoxide radical, together with functional and molecular analyses. Pathologic examination of the kidney of I-R rats revealed severe renal damage. Importantly, cytoprotective effects of the dual treatment in comparison with H 2 treatment and I-R renal injury were observed in terms of superoxide radical scavenging activity and histochemical features. Rats given dual treatment and I-R renal injury showed significant decreases in blood urea nitrogen. Increased expression of several inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, intracellular adhesion molecule-1, nuclear factor-κB, hypoxia inducible factor-1α, and heme oxygenase-1) was attenuated by the dual treatment. Dual gas inhalation decreases oxidative stress and markedly improves I-R-induced renal injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of nickel and copper catalysts in biogas reforming for hydrogen production in SOFC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Leonardo Alves; Martins, Andre Rosa; Rangel, Maria do Carmo, E-mail: mcarmov@ufba.br [Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, BA (Brazil). Grupo de Estudos em Cinetica e Catalise; Ballarini, Adriana; Maina, Silvia [Instituto de Investigaciones en Catalisis Y Petroquimica Ing. Jose Miguel Parera (INCAPE), Santa Fe (Argentina)

2017-01-15

The solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) enable the efficient generation of clean energy, fitting the current requirements of the growing demand for electricity and for the environment preservation. When powered with biogas (from digesters of municipal wastes), the SOFCs also contribute to reduce the environmental impact of these wastes. The most suitable route to produce hydrogen inside SOFC from biogas is through dry reforming but the catalyst is easily deactivated by coke, because of the high amounts of carbon in the stream. A promising way to overcome this drawback is by adding a second metal to nickel-based catalysts. Aiming to obtain active, selective and stable catalysts for biogas dry reforming, solids based on nickel (15%) and copper (5%) supported on aluminum and magnesium oxide were studied in this work. Samples were prepared by impregnating the support with nickel and copper nitrate, followed by calcination at 500, 600 and 800 deg C. It was noted that all solids were made of nickel oxide, nickel aluminate and magnesium aluminate but no copper compound was found. The specific surface areas did not changed with calcination temperature but the nickel oxide average particles size increased. The solids reducibility decreased with increasing temperature. All catalysts were active in methane dry reforming, leading to similar conversions but different selectivities to hydrogen and different activities in water gas shift reaction (WGSR). This behavior was assigned to different interactions between nickel and copper, at different calcination temperatures. All catalysts were active in WGSR, decreasing the hydrogen to carbon monoxide molar ratio and producing water. The catalyst calcined at 500 deg C was the most promising one, leading to the highest hydrogen yield, besides the advantage of being produced at the lowest calcination temperature, requiring less energy in its preparation. (author)

Evaluation of nickel and copper catalysts in biogas reforming for hydrogen production in SOFC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Leonardo Alves; Martins, Andre Rosa; Rangel, Maria do Carmo

2017-01-01

The solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) enable the efficient generation of clean energy, fitting the current requirements of the growing demand for electricity and for the environment preservation. When powered with biogas (from digesters of municipal wastes), the SOFCs also contribute to reduce the environmental impact of these wastes. The most suitable route to produce hydrogen inside SOFC from biogas is through dry reforming but the catalyst is easily deactivated by coke, because of the high amounts of carbon in the stream. A promising way to overcome this drawback is by adding a second metal to nickel-based catalysts. Aiming to obtain active, selective and stable catalysts for biogas dry reforming, solids based on nickel (15%) and copper (5%) supported on aluminum and magnesium oxide were studied in this work. Samples were prepared by impregnating the support with nickel and copper nitrate, followed by calcination at 500, 600 and 800 deg C. It was noted that all solids were made of nickel oxide, nickel aluminate and magnesium aluminate but no copper compound was found. The specific surface areas did not changed with calcination temperature but the nickel oxide average particles size increased. The solids reducibility decreased with increasing temperature. All catalysts were active in methane dry reforming, leading to similar conversions but different selectivities to hydrogen and different activities in water gas shift reaction (WGSR). This behavior was assigned to different interactions between nickel and copper, at different calcination temperatures. All catalysts were active in WGSR, decreasing the hydrogen to carbon monoxide molar ratio and producing water. The catalyst calcined at 500 deg C was the most promising one, leading to the highest hydrogen yield, besides the advantage of being produced at the lowest calcination temperature, requiring less energy in its preparation. (author)

Simultaneous purification and storage of hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hynek, S.; Fuller, W.; Weber, R.; Carlson, E. [Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA (United States)

1998-08-01

Specially coated magnesium particles have been shown to selectively absorb hydrogen from a hydrogen-rich gas stream such as reformate. These coated magnesium particles can store the absorbed hydrogen as required and subsequently deliver pure hydrogen, just as uncoated magnesium particles can. These coated magnesium particles could be used in a device that accepts a steady stream of reformate, as from a methane reformer, stores the selectively absorbed hydrogen indefinitely, and delivers purified hydrogen on demand. Unfortunately, this coating (magnesium nitride) has been shown to degrade over a period of several weeks, so that the magnesium within evidences progressively lower storage capacity. The authors are investigating two other coatings, one of which might be applicable to hydridable metals other than magnesium, to replace magnesium nitride.

On the effect of coverage-dependent adsorbate-adsorbate interactions for CO methanation on transition metal surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lausche, Adam C.; Medford, Andrew J.; Khan, Tuhin Suvra

2013-01-01

with a high coverage of CO. At these high coverages, reaction intermediates experience interaction effects that typically reduce their adsorption energies. Herein, the effect of these interactions on the activities of transition metals for CO methanation is investigated. For transition metals that have low...... coverages of reactants, the effect is minimal. But for materials with high coverages under reaction conditions, rates can change by several orders of magnitude. Nevertheless, the position of the maximum of the activity volcano does not shift significantly, and the rates at the maximum are only slightly......Heterogeneously catalyzed reactions involving the dissociation of strongly bonded molecules typically need quite reactive catalysts with high coverages of intermediate molecules. Methanation of carbon monoxide is one example, where CO dissociation has been reported to take place on step sites...

Isotopic studies on oxidative methane coupling over samarium oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otsuka, Kiyoshi; Inaida, Masakatsu; Wada, Yuji; Komatsu, Takayuki; Morikawa, Akira

1989-01-01

The evident kinetic isotope effect was observed for the formations of ethylene and ethane through the oxidative coupling of methane on Sm 2 O 3 , when CH 4 and CD 4 were used as the reactants. Ethanes formed in the reaction of a mixture of CH 4 , CD 4 , and O 2 were C 2 H 6 , C 2 H 3 D 3 , and C 2 D 6 as major products. These results indicate that the rate-determining step of the reaction is abstraction of hydrogen from methane and that ethane is formed through the coupling of methyl intermediate. (author)

Conversion from carbon dioxide to organic materials by RF impulse discharges with hydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Satoh, G.; Kano, M.; Iizuka, S. [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

2010-07-01

Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) is among the most serious greenhouse gases emitted from the burning of fossil fuels. The objective of this study was to investigate the fundamental process of reducing CO{sub 2} to generate beneficial and reusable organic materials like methane (CH{sub 4}) and alcohol (CH{sub 3}OH) by using RF impulse discharges in a low gas pressure regime. A low-pressure glow discharge was used to investigate the fundamental processes without catalysts. The discharge took place inside a glass tube by changing the discharge parameters such as voltage, gas flow rate and gas residence time, where the CO{sub 2} was reduced by hydrogen (H{sub 2}). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the gas species. Several organic materials were observed, including methane and methanol. The study focused primarily on the reduction of CO{sub 2} by using only H{sub 2}. Carbon monoxide (CO) was clearly a major product from CO{sub 2}, but CH{sub 4} was the most dominant organic species in this experiment. The density of CH{sub 4} increased with the discharge power, and eventually its volume ratio was about 20 percent among the gas species containing carbon via decomposition of CO{sub 2}. This ratio was dependent on the mixing ratio of CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}. It was concluded that the total pressure is an important factor for efficient production. CH{sub 3}OH formation was observed, but its concentration was low in comparison to CH{sub 4}. 5 refs., 6 figs.

Production of hydrogen by thermocatalytic cracking of natural gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muradov, N. [Florida Solar Energy Center, Cocoa, FL (United States)

1996-10-01

The conventional methods of hydrogen production from natural gas (for example, steam reforming and partial oxidation) are complex, multi-step processes that produce large quantities of CO{sub 2}. The main goal of this project is to develop a technologically simple process for hydrogen production from natural gas (NG) and other hydrocarbon fuels via single-step decomposition of hydrocarbons. This approach eliminates or significantly reduces CO{sub 2} emission. Carbon is a valuable by-product of this process, whereas conventional methods of hydrogen production from NG produce no useful by-products. This approach is based on the use of special catalysts that reduce the maximum temperature of the process from 1400-1500{degrees}C (thermal non-catalytic decomposition of methane) to 500-900{degrees}C. Transition metal based catalysts and various forms of carbon are among the candidate catalysts for the process. This approach can advantageously be used for the development of compact NG reformers for on-site production of hydrogen-methane blends at refueling stations and, also, for the production of hydrogen-rich gas for fuel cell applications. The author extended the search for active methane decomposition catalysts to various modifications of Ni-, Fe-, Mo- and Co-based catalysts. Variation in the operational parameters makes it possible to produce H{sub 2}-CH{sub 4} blends with a wide range of hydrogen concentrations that vary from 15 to 98% by volume. The author found that Ni-based catalysts are more effective at temperatures below 750{degrees}C, whereas Fe-based catalysts are effective at temperatures above 800{degrees}C for the production of hydrogen with purity of 95% v. or higher. The catalytic pyrolysis of liquid hydrocarbons (pentane, gasoline) over Fe-based catalyst was conducted. The author observed the production of a hydrogen-rich gas (hydrogen concentration up to 97% by volume) at a rate of approximately 1L/min.mL of hydrocarbon fuel.

General circulation model study of atmospheric carbon monoxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto, J.P.; Yung, Y.L.; Rind, D.; Russell, G.L.; Lerner, J.A.; Hansen, J.E.; Hameed, S.

1983-01-01

The carbon monoxide cycle is studied by incorporating the known and hypothetical sources and sinks in a tracer model that uses the winds generated by a general circulation model. Photochemical production and loss terms, which depend on OH radical concentrations, are calculated in an interactive fashion. The computed global distribution and seasonal variations of CO are compared with observations to obtain constraints on the distribution and magnitude of the sources and sinks of CO, and on the tropospheric abundance of OH. The simplest model that accounts for available observations requires a low latitude plant source of about 1.3 x 10 15 g yr -1 , in addition to sources from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and oxidation of methane. The globally averaged OH concentration calculated in the model is 7 x 10 5 cm -3 . Models that calculate globally averaged OH concentrations much lower than our nominal value are not consistent with the observed variability of CO. Such models are also inconsistent with measurements of CO isotopic abundances, which imply the existence of plant sources

Evidence of sulfate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation... Wolfe & Wilkin data table vers 1

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Data file (.csv) including data plotted in manuscript figures: methane and sulfate concentrations, and stable isotope data for carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen....

Dispersive oxidation of rhodium clusters in Na-Y by the combined action of zeolite protons and carbon monoxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, T.T.T.; Sachtler, W.M.H.; Stakheev, A.Yu.

1992-01-01

This paper uses x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed mass-spectrometric analysis to study the interaction of Na-Y supported rhodium with hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and zeolite protons. This report attempts to clarify the mechanism of dispersive oxidation of reduced Rh particles in the presence of CO, leading to the formation of Rh + (CO) 2 cations

Hydrogenation of surface carbon on alumina-supported nickel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mccarthy, J.G.; Wise, H.

1979-05-01

The methanation of carbon deposited by CO or ethylene decomposition on Girdler G-65 catalyst (25Vertical Bar3< nickel, 8Vertical Bar3< alkali, mostly CaO, 4Vertical Bar3< C as graphite, on alumina) was studied by temperature-programed desorption and temperature-programed surface reaction. Four types of carbon were identified: ..cap alpha..-carbon consisted of isolated carbon atoms bonded to nickel and reacting with hydrogen at 470/sup 0/ +/- 20/sup 0/K; ..gamma..-carbon was probably a bulk carbide, most likely Ni/sub 3/C, which had a reaction peak at 550/sup 0/K; ..beta..-carbon consisted of amorphous, polymerized carbon, which had a reaction peak at 680/sup 0/K; and an unreactive crystalline graphite-like species. The ..cap alpha..-form was thermally unstable and transformed into the ..beta..-form above 600/sup 0/K. Both ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-forms slowly converted to inert graphite above 600/sup 0/K. The evidence suggested that synthesis gas methanation proceeds by dissociative adsorption of CO as the rate-determining step which forms a very reactive carbon adatom state (..cap alpha..') which converts to the ..cap alpha..-state in the absence of hydrogen and to methane in the presence of hydrogen.

Occult Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

OpenAIRE

Kirkpatrick, John N.

1987-01-01

A syndrome of headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, chest pain, palpitations and visual disturbances was associated with chronic occult carbon monoxide exposure in 26 patients in a primary care setting. A causal association was supported by finding a source of carbon monoxide in a patient's home, workplace or vehicle; results of screening tests that ruled out other illnesses; an abnormally high carboxyhemoglobin level in 11 of 14 patients tested, and abatement or resolution of symptoms ...

Analysis on Operating Parameter Design to Steam Methane Reforming in Heat Application RDE

Science.gov (United States)

Dibyo, Sukmanto; Sunaryo, Geni Rina; Bakhri, Syaiful; Zuhair; Irianto, Ign. Djoko

2018-02-01

The high temperature reactor has been developed with various power capacities and can produce electricity and heat application. One of heat application is used for hydrogen production. Most hydrogen production occurs by steam reforming that operated at high temperature. This study aims to analyze the feasibility of heat application design of RDE reactor in the steam methane reforming for hydrogen production using the ChemCAD software. The outlet temperature of cogeneration heat exchanger is analyzed to be applied as a feed of steam reformer. Furthermore, the additional heater and calculating amount of fuel usage are described. Results show that at a low mass flow rate of feed, its can produce a temperature up to 480°C. To achieve the temperature of steam methane reforming of 850°C the additional fired heater was required. By the fired heater, an amount of fuel usage is required depending on the Reformer feed temperature produced from the heat exchanger of the cogeneration system.

Europe - the first hydrogen economy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hart, D.

1999-01-01

An examination of the state of research relating to hydrogen production and utilization indicates that interest in hydrogen from major companies in Europe has increased by several orders of magnitude in recent years. Of the three major areas where a hydrogen economy could be expected to start, namely, Japan, the United States and Europe, the latter may have advantages in diversity of resources, attitudes towards environmental issues and specific fiscal and regulatory structures. Examples of ongoing research and development projects in Europe include Norway's hydrogen combustion turbine to run on hydrogen from decarbonised natural gas, a project in the Netherlands involving mixing hydrogen and methane in the natural gas grid and a variety of projects involving liquid hydrogen refuelling, hydrogen aircraft, hydrogen fuelling stations and fuel cell vehicle development. There are also ongoing projects in carbon sequestration and hydrogen production for power generation and vehicle use. The author's main contention is that the combination of natural surroundings, environmental problems and attitudes, and business and government frameworks strongly suggest that Europe may be the first to have a hydrogen-based economy. 8 refs

Biotechnological aspects of sulfate reduction with methane as electron donor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulepas, R.J.W.; Stams, A.J.M.; Lens, P.N.L.

2010-01-01

Biological sulfate reduction can be used for the removal and recovery of oxidized sulfur compounds and metals from waste streams. However, the costs of conventional electron donors, like hydrogen and ethanol, limit the application possibilities. Methane from natural gas or biogas would be a more

Vibrational Mode-Specific Reaction of Methane with a Nickel Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Rainer

2004-03-01

The dissociation of methane on a nickel catalyst is a key step in steam reforming of natural gas for hydrogen production. Despite substantial effort in both experiment and theory, there is still no atomic scale description of this important gas-surface reaction. To elucidate its dynamics, we have performed quantum state resolved studies of vibrationally excited methane reacting on the Ni(100) surface using pulsed laser and molecular beam techniques. We observed up to a factor of 5 greater reaction probability for methane-d2 with two quanta of excitation in one C-H bond versus a nearly isoenergetic state with one quanta in each of two C-H bonds. The observed reactivities point to a transition state structure which has one of the C-H bonds significantly elongated. Our results also clearly exclude the possibility of statistical models correctly describing the mechanism of this process and emphasize the importance of full-dimensional calculations of the reaction dynamics.

A 60 yr record of atmospheric carbon monoxide reconstructed from Greenland firn air

Science.gov (United States)

Petrenko, V. V.; Martinerie, P.; Novelli, P.; Etheridge, D. M.; Levin, I.; Wang, Z.; Blunier, T.; Chappellaz, J.; Kaiser, J.; Lang, P.; Steele, L. P.; Hammer, S.; Mak, J.; Langenfelds, R. L.; Schwander, J.; Severinghaus, J. P.; Witrant, E.; Petron, G.; Battle, M. O.; Forster, G.; Sturges, W. T.; Lamarque, J.-F.; Steffen, K.; White, J. W. C.

2013-08-01

We present the first reconstruction of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) high latitude atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) mole fraction from Greenland firn air. Firn air samples were collected at three deep ice core sites in Greenland (NGRIP in 2001, Summit in 2006 and NEEM in 2008). CO records from the three sites agree well with each other as well as with recent atmospheric measurements, indicating that CO is well preserved in the firn at these sites. CO atmospheric history was reconstructed back to the year 1950 from the measurements using a combination of two forward models of gas transport in firn and an inverse model. The reconstructed history suggests that Arctic CO in 1950 was 140-150 nmol mol-1, which is higher than today's values. CO mole fractions rose by 10-15 nmol mol-1 from 1950 to the 1970s and peaked in the 1970s or early 1980s, followed by a ≈ 30 nmol mol-1 decline to today's levels. We compare the CO history with the atmospheric histories of methane, light hydrocarbons, molecular hydrogen, CO stable isotopes and hydroxyl radicals (OH), as well as with published CO emission inventories and results of a historical run from a chemistry-transport model. We find that the reconstructed Greenland CO history cannot be reconciled with available emission inventories unless unrealistically large changes in OH are assumed. We argue that the available CO emission inventories strongly underestimate historical NH emissions, and fail to capture the emission decline starting in the late 1970s, which was most likely due to reduced emissions from road transportation in North America and Europe.

A 60 yr record of atmospheric carbon monoxide reconstructed from Greenland firn air

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Petrenko

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We present the first reconstruction of the Northern Hemisphere (NH high latitude atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO mole fraction from Greenland firn air. Firn air samples were collected at three deep ice core sites in Greenland (NGRIP in 2001, Summit in 2006 and NEEM in 2008. CO records from the three sites agree well with each other as well as with recent atmospheric measurements, indicating that CO is well preserved in the firn at these sites. CO atmospheric history was reconstructed back to the year 1950 from the measurements using a combination of two forward models of gas transport in firn and an inverse model. The reconstructed history suggests that Arctic CO in 1950 was 140–150 nmol mol−1, which is higher than today's values. CO mole fractions rose by 10–15 nmol mol−1 from 1950 to the 1970s and peaked in the 1970s or early 1980s, followed by a ≈ 30 nmol mol−1 decline to today's levels. We compare the CO history with the atmospheric histories of methane, light hydrocarbons, molecular hydrogen, CO stable isotopes and hydroxyl radicals (OH, as well as with published CO emission inventories and results of a historical run from a chemistry-transport model. We find that the reconstructed Greenland CO history cannot be reconciled with available emission inventories unless unrealistically large changes in OH are assumed. We argue that the available CO emission inventories strongly underestimate historical NH emissions, and fail to capture the emission decline starting in the late 1970s, which was most likely due to reduced emissions from road transportation in North America and Europe.

Observations of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide at Tae-Ahn peninsula (Korea), Mount Waliguan (China), Ulaan Uul (Mongolia) and at Mauna Loa (Hawaii USA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Y.S. [Korea National Univ. of Education, Chongwon (Korea, Republic of); Tans, P.P.; Conway, T.J.; Dlugokencky, E.J. [Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Lab., Bouler (United States); Novelli, P.C.; Tolier, M. [Colorado Univ. (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences; Wen, Y. [Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing (China); Dagvadorj, D. [Mongolian Hydrometeorological Research Inst., Ulaan Batar (Mongolia)

1995-12-31

It has been discussed that the greenhouse gases, e.g. carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) methane (CH{sub 4}), enhance warming in the biosphere. Many scientists are therefore interested in monitoring the minor constituents of the atmosphere and in the carbon cycle. In cooperation with the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL) of U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} and carbon monoxide (CO) at the western tip of the Tae-ahn Peninsula (TAP) in central Korea since October 1990 has been measured. Shortly thereafter, two more sites were added for the measurement of greenhouse gases in East Asia; one at Mount Waliguar Qinghai Province (QPC) in China and another at Ulaan Uul (UUM), the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Also, trace gas data obtained at Mauna Loa (MLO) in Hawaii in the USA has been used. The Hawaiian data represent the world`s longest period of CO{sub 2} monitoring since 1958. The present monitoring is a part of the Global Air Sampling Network the WMO`s Global Atmospheric Watch. The method of collecting and measuring CO{sub 2}, CO and CH{sub 4} have been described else where. Here the four year monitoring of the trace gases at the three sites in East Asia is reported. The results are also compared with the measured values obtained at the free troposphere background site at MLO in Hawaii

Observations of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide at Tae-Ahn peninsula (Korea), Mount Waliguan (China), Ulaan Uul (Mongolia) and at Mauna Loa (Hawaii USA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Y S [Korea National Univ. of Education, Chongwon (Korea, Republic of); Tans, P P; Conway, T J; Dlugokencky, E J [Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Lab., Bouler (United States); Novelli, P C; Tolier, M [Colorado Univ. (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences; Wen, Y [Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing (China); Dagvadorj, D [Mongolian Hydrometeorological Research Inst., Ulaan Batar (Mongolia)

1996-12-31

It has been discussed that the greenhouse gases, e.g. carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) methane (CH{sub 4}), enhance warming in the biosphere. Many scientists are therefore interested in monitoring the minor constituents of the atmosphere and in the carbon cycle. In cooperation with the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL) of U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} and carbon monoxide (CO) at the western tip of the Tae-ahn Peninsula (TAP) in central Korea since October 1990 has been measured. Shortly thereafter, two more sites were added for the measurement of greenhouse gases in East Asia; one at Mount Waliguar Qinghai Province (QPC) in China and another at Ulaan Uul (UUM), the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Also, trace gas data obtained at Mauna Loa (MLO) in Hawaii in the USA has been used. The Hawaiian data represent the world`s longest period of CO{sub 2} monitoring since 1958. The present monitoring is a part of the Global Air Sampling Network the WMO`s Global Atmospheric Watch. The method of collecting and measuring CO{sub 2}, CO and CH{sub 4} have been described else where. Here the four year monitoring of the trace gases at the three sites in East Asia is reported. The results are also compared with the measured values obtained at the free troposphere background site at MLO in Hawaii

A comparison of hydrogen with alternate energy forms from coal and nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, K.E.

1976-01-01

Alternate energy forms that can be produced from coal and nuclear energy have been analyzed on efficiency, economic and end-use grounds. These forms include hydrogen, methane, electricity, and EVA-ADAM, a 'chemical heat pipe' approach to energy transmission. The EVA-ADAM system for nuclear heat appears to be economically competitive with the other energy carriers except over very large distances. The cost of hydrogen derived from coal is approximately equal to that of methane derived from the same source when compared on an equal BTU basis. Thermochemically derived hydrogen from nuclear energy shows a break-even range with hydrogen derived from coal at coal costs of from Pound33 to 80/ton depending on the cost of nuclear heat. Electricity and electrolytically derived hydrogen are the most expensive energy carriers and electricity's use should be limited to applications involving work rather than heat. Continued work in thermochemical hydrogen production schemes should be supported as an energy option for the future. (author)

Plasma catalytic process for CO2 methanation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nizio, Magdalena

2016-01-01

The limited resources of oil and natural gas, together with an increasing energy demand, forces us to seek more and more efficient and cleaner energy production alternatives. Hydrogen has been recently considered as a promising energy carrier. However, there are several inherent problems to the utilization of H 2 , from its transportation to its distribution. Transformation of the H 2 molecule by fixing into a carbon-containing compound, i.e. CH 4 , will offer the possibility of using the conventional transportation network. Indeed, the Sabatier reaction, which is highly exothermic, involves the reaction of carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas in order to produce methane and water. This process, called methanation, represents a feasible approach contributing to the reduction of the CO 2 emissions in our atmosphere, through a closed carbon cycle involving the valorization of CO 2 , i.e. from capture. However, below a temperature of 250 C, the conversion becomes practically close to 0 %, whereas at higher temperatures, i.e., (≥300 C), the co-existence of secondary reactions favours the formation of CO and H 2 . This is the reason why new catalysts and process conditions are continuously being investigated in order to maximize the methane selectivity at low reaction temperatures at atmospheric pressure. Therefore, by using catalysts combined to Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasmas (DBD), the activation of the methanation reaction can be enhanced and overcome the drawbacks of existing conventional processes. Several Ni-containing catalysts were prepared using various ceria-zirconia oxides as supports, with different Ce/Zr ratios. The results obtained in the adiabatic conditions at low temperatures (ranging between 100-150 C), in the presence of catalysts activated by plasma, are promising. Indeed, the conversion of CO 2 to CH 4 is about 85 % with a selectivity close to 100 %. The same conversion in the absence of the plasma activation of the catalyst is observed at 350 C

Use of nuclear energy for hydrogen production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Axente, Damian

2006-01-01

Full text: The potentials of three hydrogen production processes under development for the industrial production of hydrogen using nuclear energy, namely the advanced electrolysis the steam reforming, the sulfur-iodine water splitting cycle, are compared and evaluated in this paper. Water electrolysis and steam reforming of methane are proven and used extensively today for the production of hydrogen. The overall thermal efficiency of the electrolysis includes the efficiency of the electrical power generation and of the electrolysis itself. The electrolysis process efficiency is about 75 % and of electrical power generation is only about 30 %, the overall thermal efficiency for H 2 generation being about 25 %. Steam reforming process consists of reacting methane (or natural gas) and steam in a chemical reactor at 800-900 deg. C, with a thermal efficiency of about 70 %. In a reforming process, with heat supplied by nuclear reactor, the heat must be supplied by a secondary loop from the nuclear side and be transferred to the methane/steam mixture, via a heat exchanger type reactor. The sulfur-iodine cycle, a thermochemical water splitting, is of particular interest because it produces hydrogen efficiently with no CO 2 as byproduct. If heated with a nuclear source it could prove to be an ideal environmental solution to hydrogen production. Steam reforming remains the cheapest hydrogen production method based on the latest estimates, even when implemented with nuclear reactor. The S-I cycle offers a close second solution and the electrolysis is the most expensive of the options for industrial H 2 production. The nuclear plant could power electrolysis operations right away; steam reforming with nuclear power is a little bit further off into the future, the first operation with nuclear facility is expected to have place in Japan in 2008. The S-I cycle implementation is still over the horizon, it will be more than 10 years until we will see that cycle in full scale

Carbon (14C,13C) and hydrogen (D) isotope measurements on atmospheric methane and its sources (sinks)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, I.; Doerr, H.

1991-07-01

Concentrations and isotope ratios ( 13 C/ 12 C and D/H) of atmospheric methane and methane from other sources were determined by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy in specially prepared samples. The results were used for assessing the atmospheric methane inventory. (BBR) [de

Potential use and the energy conversion efficiency analysis of fermentation effluents from photo and dark fermentative bio-hydrogen production.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhiping; Li, Yameng; Zhang, Huan; He, Chao; Zhang, Quanguo

2017-12-01

Effluent of bio-hydrogen production system also can be adopted to produce methane for further fermentation, cogeneration of hydrogen and methane will significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency. Platanus Orientalis leaves were taken as the raw material for photo- and dark-fermentation bio-hydrogen production. The resulting concentrations of acetic, butyric, and propionic acids and ethanol in the photo- and dark-fermentation effluents were 2966mg/L and 624mg/L, 422mg/L and 1624mg/L, 1365mg/L and 558mg/L, and 866mg/L and 1352mg/L, respectively. Subsequently, we calculated the energy conversion efficiency according to the organic contents of the effluents and their energy output when used as raw material for methane production. The overall energy conversion efficiencies increased by 15.17% and 22.28%, respectively, when using the effluents of photo and dark fermentation. This two-step bio-hydrogen and methane production system can significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency of anaerobic biological treatment plants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Hydrogen isotope fractionation in methane plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, François; Derenne, Sylvie; Lombardi, Guillaume; Hassouni, Khaled; Michau, Armelle; Reinhardt, Peter; Duhamel, Rémi; Gonzalez, Adriana; Biron, Kasia

2017-01-01

The hydrogen isotope ratio (D/H) is commonly used to reconstruct the chemical processes at the origin of water and organic compounds in the early solar system. On the one hand, the large enrichments in deuterium of the insoluble organic matter (IOM) isolated from the carbonaceous meteorites are interpreted as a heritage of the interstellar medium or resulting from ion-molecule reactions taking place in the diffuse part of the protosolar nebula. On the other hand, the molecular structure of this IOM suggests that organic radicals have played a central role in a gas-phase organosynthesis. So as to reproduce this type of chemistry between organic radicals, experiments based on a microwave plasma of CH4 have been performed. They yielded a black organic residue in which ion microprobe analyses revealed hydrogen isotopic anomalies at a submicrometric spatial resolution. They likely reflect differences in the D/H ratios between the various CHx radicals whose polymerization is at the origin of the IOM. These isotopic heterogeneities, usually referred to as hot and cold spots, are commensurable with those observed in meteorite IOM. As a consequence, the appearance of organic radicals in the ionized regions of the disk surrounding the Sun during its formation may have triggered the formation of organic compounds.

Mild oxidation of methane to methanol or acetic acid on supported isolated rhodium catalysts

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Junjun; Li, Mengwei; Allard, Lawrence F.; Lee, Sungsik; Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Maria

2017-11-01

An efficient and direct method of catalytic conversion of methane to liquid methanol and other oxygenates would be of considerable practical value. However, it remains an unsolved problem in catalysis, as typically it involves expensive or corrosive oxidants or reaction media that are not amenable to commercialization. Although methane can be directly converted to methanol using molecular oxygen under mild conditions in the gas phase, the process is either stoichiometric (and therefore requires a water extraction step) or is too slow and low-yielding to be practical. Methane could, in principle, also be transformed through direct oxidative carbonylation to acetic acid, which is commercially obtained through methane steam reforming, methanol synthesis, and subsequent methanol carbonylation on homogeneous catalysts. However, an effective catalyst for the direct carbonylation of methane to acetic acid, which might enable the economical small-scale utilization of natural gas that is currently flared or stranded, has not yet been reported. Here we show that mononuclear rhodium species, anchored on a zeolite or titanium dioxide support suspended in aqueous solution, catalyse the direct conversion of methane to methanol and acetic acid, using oxygen and carbon monoxide under mild conditions. We find that the two products form through independent pathways, which allows us to tune the conversion: three-hour-long batch-reactor tests conducted at 150 degrees Celsius, using either the zeolite-supported or the titanium-dioxide-supported catalyst, yield around 22,000 micromoles of acetic acid per gram of catalyst, or around 230 micromoles of methanol per gram of catalyst, respectively, with selectivities of 60-100 per cent. We anticipate that these unusually high activities, despite still being too low for commercial application, may guide the development of optimized catalysts and practical processes for the direct conversion of methane to methanol, acetic acid and other useful

Evidence for a hydrogen-sink mechanism of (+)catechin-mediated emission reduction of the ruminant greenhouse gas methane

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Becker, P.M.; Wikselaar, van P.G.; Franssen, M.C.R.; Vos, de C.H.; Hall, R.D.; Beekwilder, M.J.

2014-01-01

Methane formation in the rumen is a major cause of greenhouse gas emission. Plant secondary compounds in ruminant diets, such as essential oils, saponins and tannins, are known to affect methane production. However, their methane-lowering properties have generally been associated with undesired side

Microemulsion prepared Ni88Pt12 for methane cracking

KAUST Repository

Zhou, Lu

2017-01-16

Monodispersed NiPt nanoparticles of 10 nm were synthesized by water-in-oil microemulsion. The Ni-Pt alloy structure was stable during the thermal treatment between 330 and 1037 °C, whereas the relatively low temperature range of 600-700 °C was favorable for methane cracking to produce hydrogen and carbon nanotubes.

Microemulsion prepared Ni88Pt12 for methane cracking

KAUST Repository

Zhou, Lu; Harb, Moussab; Hedhili, Mohamed N.; Mana, Noor Al; Basset, Jean-Marie

2017-01-01

Monodispersed NiPt nanoparticles of 10 nm were synthesized by water-in-oil microemulsion. The Ni-Pt alloy structure was stable during the thermal treatment between 330 and 1037 °C, whereas the relatively low temperature range of 600-700 °C was favorable for methane cracking to produce hydrogen and carbon nanotubes.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on whole blood cyanide concentrations in carbon monoxide intoxicated patients from fire accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lawson-Smith, Pia; Jansen, Erik C; Hilsted, Linda

2010-01-01

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and carbon monoxide (CO) may be important components of smoke from fire accidents. Accordingly, patients admitted to hospital from fire accidents may have been exposed to both HCN and CO. Cyanide (CN) intoxication results in cytotoxic hypoxia leading to organ dysfunction...... and animal experiments have shown that in rats exposed to CN intoxication, HBO can increase the concentration of CN in whole blood....

Hydrogen as automotive fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambrosini, G.; Ciancia, A.; Pede, G.; Brighigna, M.

1993-01-01

Hydrogen fueled vehicles may just be the answer to the air pollution problem in highly polluted urban environments where the innovative vehicle's air pollution abatement characteristics would justify its high operating costs as compared with those of conventional automotive alternatives. This paper examines the feasibility of hydrogen as an automotive fuel by analyzing the following aspects: the chemical-physical properties of hydrogen in relation to its use in internal combustion engines; the modifications necessary to adapt internal combustion engines to hydrogen use; hydrogen fuel injection systems; current production technologies and commercialization status of hydrogen automotive fuels; energy efficiency ratings; environmental impacts; in-vehicle storage systems - involving the use of hydrides, high pressure systems and liquid hydrogen storage systems; performance in terms of pay-load ratio; autonomous operation; and operating costs. With reference to recent trial results being obtained in the USA, an assessment is also made of the feasibility of the use of methane-hydrogen mixtures as automotive fuels. The paper concludes with a review of progress being made by ENEA (the Italian Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment) in the development of fuel storage and electronic fuel injection systems for hydrogen powered vehicles

Energy conversion using hydrogen PEM fuel cells